My Responsibility
by MoDaD
Summary: Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened. (Chapter 22 of 22.)
1. Chapter 1

Title: My Responsibility  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The hard protrusion into the small of her back was uncomfortable enough without the guy's forearm wrapped tightly around her front just between her neck and her chest, Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs thought to herself. The protrusion was no doubt the barrel of the gun the unidentified, masked robber had been waving in the air moments earlier.

Callie was at Megakat Savings and Loan to talk with its board members about opening a new line of credit for the city, a task she mildly dreaded as it essentially required her to get down on her hands and knees to beg for more money to hold the city over another fiscal quarter. The proposed interest rates were an insult, but she knew, as the board members knew, the city would agree to them out of desperation. They always did.

At least, that's what she would have been doing if she hadn't walked into the lobby moments before what seemed to be a textbook bank robbery began. At least, it was textbook until a random Enforcer officer had walked past the entrance. One of the bank robbers, apparently a little overzealous, had opened fire just as his accomplice had returned from their brief visit to the vault with the bank manager and his keys.

The gunshots were deafening in the decorative lobby, and the sound of breaking glass as the bullets narrowly missed their target startled the already afraid patrons who had been instructed to lay on the ground with their hands on their heads. Callie was one of those until she had been grabbed up by her forearms and into the position she was currently in: as an impromptu hostage and shield. The Enforcer officer had scrambled away and was out of sight, taking cover somewhere on the sidewalk.

"What did you do that for?" the one who was wearing a red bandana to cover his face just below the eyes shouted more than asked.

"There was a cop coming in here!" Callie's captor explained, his grip tightening. He smelled of cheap cologne, with more than a hint of desperation, Callie thought.

"Perfect…" Red Bandana said, his plan apparently not working out as he had hoped. He was weighted down by a large duffel bag. Callie didn't need to see the contents to guess what was inside of it.

"If you guys just take the money and leave you can get out of here," Callie suggested. "No one has to get hurt."

"Shut up!" Cheap Cologne ordered. "If I wanted your opinion I'd of asked for it!"

Red Bandana paused as Callie spoke, her voice triggering some distant memory. He stared at her briefly, and a look of horror crossed his face.

"Oh no, you're the Deputy Mayor, aren't you?" Red Bandana asked. Several squad car sirens could be heard in the distance now.

"What's it matter?" Cheap Cologne asked as he began to prod Callie forward, leading her toward the bank's now shattered entrance. "At least we have a hostage to get us out of here."

"No, you idiot. Let her go!" Red Bandana shouted as he followed after them. "She's the one the SWAT Kats always save!"

"The SWAT Kats?" Cheap Cologne considered, and looked down at Callie.

"It's true," Callie replied with as best of a shrug as she could manage. "Though, they are running a little bit late."

Cheap Cologne and Red Bandana briefly exchanged a glance, and were about to say something further, but they didn't get the chance as both of them tore away from her. Callie fell to the ground as a loud rocket noise blew past her, throwing her hair out of place and knocking her glasses off, distorting her view. This was followed by a loud crashing sound, and, as she fumbled with her finger tips to retrieve her glasses, a powerful hand reached down to meet hers.

"Sorry we're late, Ms. Briggs," the familiar voice of T-Bone said. He helped Callie to her feet, and in his other hand held out her glasses to her.

"Thanks," she replied, putting them back on. The world came into focus again, and she could see the two bank robbers were secured to the far wall of the bank, Red Bandana by his torso and Cheap Cologne by his head. Both were hopelessly struggling to break free.

"Don't struggle like that," Razor said, nearby the two as he scooped up a handbag from the floor. "Those Octopus Missiles of ours are rated for several tons of pressure. You'll just pull a muscle."

The two would be robbers both seemed to resign to their fate at that, just as several Enforcer SWAT Team members came rushing into the bank's worse for wear lobby, assault rifles at the ready.

"Don't worry guys," T-Bone explained, gesturing to the surroundings. "We just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought we'd make a deposit."

The other bank patrons cheered, getting up from their positions on the floor to rush over to the SWAT Kats. The Enforcer SWAT Team's composure relaxed as they realized the bank robbery had been halted.

"Uh, I think you dropped this," Razor said, handing the handbag over to Callie just before the thankful group got in-between them . Inside of it her communicator was blinking, and Callie discreetly turned it off. As soon as the bank robbers had ordered everyone on the ground she had activated the distress signal.

"I know a bank robbery might be a bit pedestrian for you guys, but I appreciate that you stopped by," Callie said to them.

"It's no problem, Callie," T-Bone said, slightly distracted by the autograph he was signing.

"Yeah, you know you can always count on us to watch your back," Razor said as he posed for a photo someone was taking with their cell phone's camera.

Callie smirked at the scene. Only the SWAT Kats could turn a scene that was once riddled with fear into one of celebration like that, she thought to herself.

The crowd instantly quieted down as another presence overtook the room.

"And, who do I make this one out to-," T-Bone began as he turned to face the all-too-familiar overcoat that was now in his face.

"You can make it out to the jail cell you two will be spending the night in," the boisterous voice of Commander Feral said. He had apparently entered unnoticed amid the crowd of victims turned fans.

And, only Commander Feral could turn that scene right back, Callie thought.

"Well, look who's here," T-Bone said as he crossed his arms. "Late as usual."

"You should find everything that was stolen in this," Razor said, approaching the two. He dropped the duffel bag full of money at Feral's feet. "And this time the money's all in one piece."

Commander Feral looked down at the money, glanced at the two restrained robbers whom the Enforcer SWAT Team was now attempting to free, and also at the faces of the crowd who all seemed on the verge of being upset once more.

"Mommy, why's that mean man want to arrest the SWAT Kats?" a child could be heard asking his mother. Several in the crowd giggled, and Feral's face softened ever so slightly.

"Yeah, why does the mean man want to arrest us?" T-Bone asked, a small smile creeping into his face.

"Commander Feral, the SWAT Kats just saved these people, not to mention myself, from those two criminals, and they even kept the bank from losing its money. I think you should just let them leave," Callie said, with little bit of authority added to her tone.

"Fine," Feral said, irritation creeping into his voice as he pointed a finger at the two SWAT Kats. "But next time I won't be so lenient. There's no room in Megakat City for reckless, hot shot vigilantes."

"Whatever you say, Commander," Razor replied as he moved through the crowd, T-Bone following close behind. The crowd followed with, leaving Commander Feral and Callie Briggs mostly alone in the lobby.

"One of these days those two are going to get into real trouble, and you're going to be the one who'll be responsible," Commander Feral said to Callie.

"Well, Commander," Callie began. "That's probably the only responsibility I look forward to."

* * *

_The only responsibility I look forward to…_

Callie Briggs awoke from the dream, staring up at the ceiling fan as it rotated high above her on the lowest setting. Her relatively spacious bedroom was bathed in the dim light of her laptop's screen saver. The portable computer was left open next to her formerly unconscious body. She sat up, her suit jacket sliding out from under her and onto the soft, off-white saxony carpet that was in need of a steam cleaning.

For what was probably the fourth time this week, she had fallen asleep in her clothes, with a pile of unfinished work at her side. Her alarm clock read 4:49 AM. She had beaten her alarm clock by 11 minutes.

In just a little under four hours she would be in a meeting with the city's commerce committee suggesting new ways to attract more business in the east side boroughs which had been experiencing a historic slump of activity in recent years.

She stretched, followed by a long and seemingly endless yawn that tempted her to just roll over and shut her eyes for just a few more minutes. But, that wasn't going to happen. Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs is a true professional, Callie thought to herself. No sleeping in, always punctual, always a star performer, dependable and a number of other adjectives that could fill a thesaurus.

Callie rolled, but instead of over, out of bed. Standing a bit clumsily on one leg she removed the hose on her legs as she walked over to her bathroom, closing the door behind herself out of habit even though no one else occupied the house. She disrobed and showered, the hot water steaming up the mirror and rectangular window that overlooked the modest backyard.

The property was closely wedged between two other homes in townhouse style, and she knew that others on the block were preparing for their morning commute as well. Mrs. Sanderson, her neighbor on the left, worked for the Post Office and would occasionally have something to say as Callie left in the mornings. Being the Deputy Mayor, one had to always give time to constituents, but she'd be lying if she said she never tried to avoid those delays on her way out the door.

After an all-too-brief time in the relaxing hot water, she turned the faucet off and wrapped one towel around her body and a second over her head, which did little to dry the now untamed mat of blonde that was her hair.

That dream again, Callie thought to herself as she opened her medicine cabinet and took out an electric toothbrush, applied some generic, almost flavorless toothpaste to it, and stuck it in her mouth on the lowest setting.

It was really more of a memory, as she had been in that exact situation nearly two years earlier. Some would-be bank robbers trying to get some easy money. For most people that would be a long-lasting, traumatic event in their lives. For Callie it had been just another day of the week, and, relatively speaking, it was a less dangerous situation than others she had been in.

She wiped the steam off of the mirror, her reflection blurred slightly. She wondered if she should get a new prescription as her eyesight seemed to be getting slightly worse. She leaned over and spat out the toothpaste, and turned the faucet of the sink to wash it away.

Callie took the towel off of her head and put her well used blowdryer to good use. After several minutes of this, she picked up a hair brush and went to work trying to tame the floofy mess atop her head. The anti-frizz conditioner she used in the shower did wonders, but not enough. She plugged in her hair straightener and began to press out lengths of her flowing blonde hair. Not too straight, with just enough bounce.

As she watched herself in the mirror, she couldn't stop thinking about what Commander Feral had told her that day.

_One of these days those two are going to get into real trouble…_

Callie sighed, knowing that dwelling on thoughts like these were just her way of distracting herself from the real problems she would rather not be thinking about. Aside from the city approaching new levels of debt, there was also the semi-frequent super criminal incidents that caused a whole mess of problems. One of the more recent ones had been a plot by Dark Kat and a retired Enforcer Captain to kill not only herself but Mayor Manx, Commander Feral and others. That investigation was still ongoing, and yet another item on her to-do list to check into.

The latest attempt on her life wasn't what concerned her the most, though it was always in the back of her mind. It was the fact that she had grown used to it. That certainly wasn't normal.

Callie finished her hair, and looking in the mirror, applied a light lipstick and some mascara. Nothing too noticeable, but just enough to maintain the image she had crafted for herself. Being a public official, one had to be presentable, especially when unscheduled television appearances could happen almost any time.

Callie exited the bathroom and tossed the towel into an overflowing hamper, and changed into a blouse and business skirt. She sat at the edge of the bed as she pulled on a new set of hose. Her alarm clock read 5:45 AM and she tapped the trackpad of her laptop. The screen blinked to show an overflowing inbox with 57 new messages.

"What I'd give for an assistant," she said with a sigh, and closed the lid of the computer.

A tighter budget meant less staff, which meant more jobs that Callie had to take over. She didn't like to brag, but she did the work of five people, including the Mayor at times, doing far more than any Deputy Mayor she knew of.

"And at a percent of the salary, too," she said out loud, glancing over at an open envelope on her nightstand. Her monthly mortgage statement was going to have to be paid from her savings again due to another round of furloughs. Of course, she didn't take the time off, as there wasn't really a choice. Her average 12 hour days were evidence of that.

It was a sacrifice she made for several reasons. Initially, when she had graduated from law school she wanted to get into politics purely for ambitious reasons. She had already been interning for Manx during his sixth term re-election campaign. Witnessing how things really worked behind the scenes, Callie knew it was a job she could do better than most, and by the time Manx was re-elected, she had gotten a position on his senior staff.

As fiscal crisis after fiscal crisis began to pile up, several on the staff deserted their positions, some even fleeing to the private sector, as paychecks became less guaranteed and Manx's re-election seemed impossible. Even the former Deputy Mayor, Alexander Steele, thought the situation was hopeless enough to warrant resigning, which gave Callie Briggs the opportunity she needed.

Callie had approached Manx with a solution, to position the deserting staff as a part of "Manx's Shakeup," a policy of cutbacks and de-regulation, where less government equaled less spending. This tested well with the populist sentiment in the city, and impressed Manx so much that he appointed her Deputy Mayor. It would've been more of an honor during good times, Callie thought, as she knew Manx was desperate and thought of her only as a gimmick. It worked, though narrowly.

Ever since then Callie had been working more than full time, trying to do everything she could to pull the city out of it's economic slump, and in the process show that she wasn't the air-headed bimbo the administration's opponents had often labeled her as.

Callie retrieved a blue tie from her closet and tucked it under the collar of her blouse, quickly tying a half Windsor without looking. She reached to the floor to pick up her suit jacket. Thankfully she hadn't spilled anything on it, and it was presentable enough to wear before another trip to the dry cleaners.

She put on the jacket, buttoning it up, and took a quick glance at herself in a nearby wall-mounted mirror.

"It's not a bad look for the future mayor of Megakat City," she said to herself.

Of course, being mayor was the future's goal. Today, she had more mundane tasks. Callie put on a pair of modest heels and gathered up her laptop and a few manilla folders off her bed, sliding them into her courier bag. There was an additional item, too.

A triangular device with a button in the center. The secret SWAT Kat communicator she had been given long ago. Though she wondered how "secret" it really was nowadays, as her relationship with the vigilantes was almost common knowledge. For better and for worse, the SWAT Kats had become an element of Manx's administration, and a key to his popularity. Callie had strongly advocated this, as they frequently tested well in polls.

But, there were other reasons outside of politically motivated ones that Callie had supported them. They'd saved her life, and aside that, she considered them friends. It was a strange concept, considering two outlaw pilots whose real names she didn't know to be friends. But, she had witnessed stranger things in Megakat City.

Callie picked up the communicator off of her nightstand and began to put it with the other items in her bag when it abruptly came to life, a loud shrieking sound coming out of it.

She gasped, dropping it. The communicator bounced harmlessly onto her bed, and the noise continued for a few brief seconds. It sounded like the feedback from a microphone that got too close to an amplifier. Just as soon as the noise had started, it was gone.

"What was that?" she asked, and picked up the communicator, looking it over. It didn't appear damaged, but then again electronics were not her speciality. She noticed her alarm clock read 6:15 AM, and Callie swore to herself.

"Great, no time for breakfast."

Callie stashed the communicator into her bag as she took it with her, making sure to grab her bridge Fast Pass and car keys off the hook that hung by her door. Living outside of the city in a two-bedroom suburban townhouse was affordable, but the morning commute always made an expensive downtown apartment seem tempting.

* * *

"Look, every year these events in the city get more expensive to provide law enforcement services to," Lt. Commander Steele said. "I'm simply suggesting that maybe you guys support this motion to collect more revenue on liquor licenses."

The shutters of several cameras could be heard intermittently in the large, circular room. City Hall's council chambers were sparsely decorated, the interior featuring a decades old Brutalist style filled with squared windows and concrete finishes that Callie assumed would make some people nostalgic for disco, roller skates and bellbottom pants.

It was an ugly, cubic room, with an equally ugly wood table that filled the middle in a half circle, with several council members sitting at it. Some had brass nameplates, while others had a triangularly folded piece of paper with their names written in permanent marker in front of them.

The city's financial management was embarrassing enough without council members having to write their names in Sharpie, Callie thought. In the middle of the half circle was a small podium with a microphone that didn't work, where Lt. Commander Steele was standing. He frequently represented the Enforcers during budgetary matters. On either side of him were bored looking photographers who occasionally snapped a photo, while at the back of the room a handful of reporters took notes in otherwise unoccupied seating.

"And risk doing more damage to an already fragile small business market?" Councilman Anderson asked at Callie's left.

"It won't be that damaging-" Steele began.

"You're proposing we raise the cost of liquor licenses by 150%," Anderson cut him off.

"They haven't been raised in over a decade," Steele replied. "And, with the way things have been going with the downtown renovations, these places are getting more popular, which means more patrons, which means more incidents."

"Incidents like Enforcers starting bar fights?" Anderson quipped back.

Though in this context the infamous Enforcer brawl at the Shenanigan's bar from two months ago was somewhat amusing, Callie didn't want to prolong this meeting anymore than necessary.

"Thank you, Lt. Commander Steele, we'll be taking your suggestion into account, though I have to agree that 150% might be too abrupt an increase," Callie said. "I would instead motion for a 25% increase."

"Seconded," Anderson said. "Though I would advise the Lt. Commander to tell his troops to try to do their part not to give extra cause to increase that."

Other council members snickered, and Steele was visibly irritated.

"We'll try our best, councilman," Steele replied.

The remaining council members voted six to four for the motion, much to Callie's relief. As deputy mayor, she was the president of the city council, but only had the power to vote when there was a tie. Due to the even number of members, this meant Callie had to do it fairly frequently, often costing much political capital in the process. She was eager to save as much of that for the upcoming budget proposal.

"Good," Callie said as she banged a gavel. "That wraps up everything on this meeting's agenda. I'll just deliver the motion to the Mayor who'll have it signed by the end of the day. Meeting adjourned."

Some council members were better than others at hiding their relief as they got up and left. Callie stood and prepared herself to answer any question from reporters, but noticed they were filing out as well. The topics of discussion were apparently too dry for follow-up.

Just as good, Callie thought to herself as she gathered her paperwork. Normally an assistant would convert the council's motion into a draft of an actual municipal ordinance that would be worked into the city's code upon approval by the Mayor. But, there was no assistant, and Callie would have to type it up herself.

Callie exited the council room and into the familiar lobby of City Hall. A mural depicting the city's history from settlement to Megawar II with elements of the present dominated most of the far wall, though it was deeply in need of a restoration. She walked past it, heading to the elevators and pressed the call button.

As soon as she did, a loud screeching noise once again began, startling her. It was coming from her bag, and she reached inside. The communicator was acting up again, and she held it out, away from her. As before, the noise stopped just as soon as it began.

"What is going on…" she asked no one in particular as she looked over the device. "I've heard of smoke detectors making a noise when the battery is low, but this is ridiculous."

"The only thing ridiculous is this," an all-too familiar authoritative voice said from behind her.

Callie frowned, and pocketed the communicator as she turned around.

"Commander Feral, what brings you to City Hall?" Callie asked, forcing a smile.

Commander Feral was an imposing figure, standing tall at near six and a half feet. When Callie had first met him she considered him a ruthless bully that was too used to getting his own way. Over the years Callie had found he was more nuanced than that, and knew that his devotion to keeping the city safe was genuine, but the culture of the Enforcers had still made him difficult to work with. Or, maybe it's just the culture of Feral, she mused.

"I've been looking over the budget proposal the Mayor's office has put together, and there are several things that I think need to be reconsidered," Feral said, holding up a thick stack of papers.

There were thousands of adjustments in that document, but Callie suspected there was only one the Commander cared about.

"Let me guess, the budget for the air force," Callie guessed.

Feral flipped the pages of the document, stopping at one with several highlighted lines.

"I could go into the specifics, but I doubt you'd care," Feral said. "There's over 200 billion dollars worth of cuts in this. We were already just barely breaking even by retrofitting Mi-4's and F-86s to cut costs. This will cut our defenses in half!"

"Trust me, I understand your frustration, Commander," Callie said. "There's belt tightening going on everywhere."

"I don't think that's what this is really about," Feral said, his eyes narrowing. "I think this is a blatant attempt by this administration to legitimize them."

Callie knew that _them_ was the SWAT Kats, and that when Feral said _this administration_, she knew he meant her.

"To be honest, Commander, that $200 billion probably isn't enough of a cut," Callie said. "Our public schools are turning into a joke because our teachers have class sizes of up to 50 kids. Our streets are falling apart and our infrastructure is crumbling. We had to close Megakat Bridge last week due to federal safety violations. Half of the subway cars in town don't run because replacement parts no longer exist for them because they're too obsolete. Our taxes are among the highest in the country, and our business and population growth has been in steady decline. Our gross metropolitan product has fallen to $500 billion dollars."

Commander Feral crossed his arms, seemingly unimpressed with the figures.

"I'm not arguing with your summation, Deputy Mayor, but I would like to add that without my Enforcers keeping this city safe, there won't be an environment for schools, businesses, transit or a populace to exist in," Feral said.

"Well, that's where you and I might have some disagreement," Callie said. "I've found that there are other resources to rely upon outside of your Enforcers."

The elevator finally chimed and the door opened. Callie walked inside.

"You'll regret this decision, Ms. Briggs," Feral said calmly. "The SWAT Kats may have good intentions, and they may have helped in the past. But they work outside the law, and they can't be trusted with Megakat City's safety. We don't even know who they really are."

"The Mayor's Office will take your concerns into consideration," Callie said, her tone bordering on dismissive, as the elevator door closed shut.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 2 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Two more meetings and a teleconference later Callie sat at the die-cast desk in her office putting the finishing touches on the ordinance modification the City Council had approved earlier that morning.

"4.13.240 – If liquor will be sold in any portion of the city's rights-of-way or on the sidewalk, the application must be accompanied by evidence of Liquor Liability insurance coverage in the amount of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence stating the specific event and date, and list Megakat City, its officers, employees and agents as additionally insured…" Callie read out loud with a yawn. "This is definitely a contender for this week's most boring piece of legislation."

It was now 5:30 PM, and Callie knew that Manx had long departed for the day, which meant her goal of getting his signature today wasn't going to happen. She signed, and clicked on the print icon in her word processor.

"First thing in the morning, then," she said, and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head. She glanced to her inbox and was not surprised to see it overflowing with papers. At the top she could see one in particular detailing a half-hearted investigation regarding the Enforcers.

Enforcer Captain Ritz, retired, had allegedly worked with the infamous terrorist Dark Kat to stage some kind of coup. The details were a bit fuzzy, especially as there was only one witness. Callie knew that Commander Feral would be conducting his own investigation into the matter, but for the sake of making the Mayor's Office look like it was doing something, Callie had started her own investigation as well. As she had expected, it wasn't going anywhere, and it had rapidly decreased in importance as the usual city affairs took priority.

"It's not like we could afford it anyway," she said, noting the other large document on her desk. The Mayor's Office's Budget for the next fiscal year. Callie was sure the Megakat City Yellowpages was smaller.

The thought of the budget reminded her about what Commander Feral had said earlier.

_They can't be trusted with Megakat City's safety._

Callie knew from her own personal experience that wasn't true. On countless occasions she had been able to call the SWAT Kats to action, and they had always come to the aid of the city without hesitation.

And, not only the city, Callie thought, as she stood up and looked out the large window of her office. Seventy-five stories below the hustle and bustle of rush hour traffic was taking place on the sidewalks and streets. It wasn't so long ago that Molly Mange had dropped her out the window of the Mayor's Office, and Callie would have plunged to her death if not for the SWAT Kats saving her midair.

She shuddered briefly at that, stepping away from the window. That sensation of hopelessly falling was enough to make her avoid all amusement park rides for the rest of her life.

The analog clock on the wall read 5:47 PM, and she decided that maybe this evening she could get to the 24-hour gym at a reasonable hour. As it was a Thursday evening, she knew she might be able to duck into the women's self defense class she had been neglecting.

* * *

The class would start at 7:30 PM, which gave Callie enough time to drive to the gym, go to the locker room, change into a pair of sweat pants with camisole tank top, and do a mile or so on the treadmill.

As always, upon entering, the unpleasant smell of sweat and body odor assaulted her nostrils, but it became less noticeable as she ran in position, the conveyor below her feet moving along at a decent speed. Her heart-rate was nearing 180 beats per minute , and the sweat was already forming on her brow. She didn't get to the gym as often as she wanted to, so she wanted to make this visit count.

I need to keep this image up, she thought to herself. The political cartoonists would have a field day with a chunky Deputy Mayor. This thought had also kept her from partaking in the City Council's nearly ceremonial sharing of donuts that took place before every meeting. It wasn't fair that Councilman Anderson's ever increasing waistline didn't affect his political career, but even a hair out of place on Callie's head could incur criticism in the media.

"You can get fat when you're the Mayor," Callie said to herself with an out-of-breath chuckle as she slowed to a walk, and then stopped completely. It was 7:20 PM, and she didn't want to add being late in addition to frequent absence.

Several other women were congregating in the multipurpose room of the gym where large wrestling mats had been put on the hardwood floor. The women were exchanging small talk. The last time Callie had attended was one month ago, and Sergeant Welker of the Enforcers had been the guest instructor. The focus of the session had revolved around some kind of hip-throw, the name of which was escaping her at the moment. Callie turned to one of the women.

"So, it's been a little while since I was last here," Callie said. "I was just trying to get a feel for how much I've missed."

The other woman laughed in a good natured way as she replied.

"Well, you probably didn't miss a whole lot. Sergeant Welker just goes over some basic punches and kicks," she said with a few jabs in the air. "But mostly, he just talks about ways to avoid dangerous situations: how to run away or get help."

"Well, I suppose that's important to know, too," Callie said as she stood on the mat with the others.

The room went quiet as the back door of the multipurpose room was opened with authority, and a lone figure dressed in Enforcer gear strode in. The individual was not Sergeant Welker. It was woman, a tall woman, whom Callie thought she recognized.

"The Sarge is out sick," the woman said, taking off a visored helmet. "So it looks like I'll be filling in. I'm Lt. Felina Feral."

Callie detected more than a hint of frustration in the lieutenant's voice, and wondered if the substitute was here by choice. Callie had met her only one time she could recall, when Dr. Viper had flooded the city, and the lieutenant's quick airlift got the Deputy Mayor out of harm's way. But something else about her was familiar. Callie knew she was the Commander's niece, and that she was a pilot, but it was something else.

Ah, the investigation, Callie remembered. Lt. Feral was the witness to Dark Kat's conspiracy, and one of the key components of the unmoving investigation, the report of which was still in Callie's inbox.

Felina Feral tossed the helmet to the ground, a humorless expression on her face. Several of the gathered students had backed aside, slightly intimidated by her presence. Felina stood in the center of the mats, and took off her gloves, glancing at each student as if inspecting them for flaws. Felina's glance passed over Callie, causing her to visibly shrink back slightly.

"Where are the men?" Felina asked as she slid the bullet proof best up over her head, unceremoniously dropping it to the mat and kicking it behind her. Several of the students looked at each other in confusion until one of them spoke up.

"Um, this is a women's self defense class…" one of them said.

"No kidding," Felina said as she unzipped the front of her jumpsuit, and slid her arms out, tying the sleeves around her waist. Underneath she wore a grey tank top, and the glint of aluminum dog tags could be seen hanging around her neck. She stretched one powerful looking arm over the other, and the sound of joints popping could be heard by all.

Someone audibly gulped, and Callie realized it was herself.

"Well, we're going to need one of them for a demonstration," Felina said, unbuckling a leather belt that had a holstered sidearm attached to it, dropping it with the other items. She turned her attention toward the door of the room.

"Hey, you with the dumbbells!" Felina called out.

A large, muscular guy was curling a fifty pound weight just outside of the multipurpose room's entrance. He looked up at Felina's shouting, and pointed a finger at himself.

"Yeah you, tough guy over there," Felina said as she waved him into the room. "I need your help with something."

The weightlifter set the dumbbell down and walked into the multipurpose room. Callie stood back as did the others to allow him inside. To call him large was an understatement. Callie wondered if the guy's muscles had muscles.

"What do you want?" he asked Felina, stepping up to her.

"Before us, ladies, is a prime specimen you're not likely to encounter in the wild," Felina said, gesturing with an open hand at the guy. "What's your name?"

"Carl," the guy said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, Carl, thanks for donating your time. Now, if you'd be so kind, I want you to assault me," Felina said.

Carl looked dubious, but before he could say more, Felina interjected.

"It's for a good cause. Women's self-defense class stuff," she said with a smirk. "Unless of course you're afraid I'll hurt you."

This seemed to reduce Carl's hesitation significantly, his ego obviously motivating him now in the presence of all the female eyes upon him.

Callie frowned, feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

"All right, I'll play along," he said with a smile, and reached forward to grab Felina by the wrist. The smile did not last long, as Carl was abruptly on the ground, face first, with his arm held awkwardly behind his back. Felina was atop him, digging a knee into his back, grasping Carl's hand with both of hers.

Callie gasped, the quickness of the movement was unexpected.

"Ow, my wrist!" Carl shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the wrestling mat.

"Today's lesson, students…" Felina said as she adjusted her grip. "…Is that no matter how large your attacker, they always have a weakness."

Carl was squirming underneath her.

"Lieutenant, I think he's had enough," Callie said, stepping forward.

"Is that true?" Felina asked, talking down to Carl.

"It's not fair!" Carl said. "I wasn't ready!"

"Exactly," Felina said, turning her attention back to the students. "There's no such thing as fairness when it comes to defending yourself. You see an opportunity, you take advantage of it."

At that, Felina let go of the wrist and stood up, removing her knee from his back. The students mumbled amid each other for a moment as Carl rolled over and stood back up, rubbing his wrist with his other hand.

"The only reason you could do that was because I wasn't really trying," Carl said.

"Is that so?" Felina asked.

"Carl, I think maybe you should just walk away," Callie said, not liking the tone the lieutenant was using.

"Yeah, it is," Carl said, ignoring Callie. The amusement he'd expressed earlier was long gone.

"Well then, Carl," Felina said as she brought both fists up in front of her while widening her stance. "Why don't you try for real this time?"

Carl didn't hesitate, and charged at Felina, bringing a fist back. He swung with what Callie assumed would've been enough force to chop down a tree, but the attack missed as Felina quickly stepped backward. Carl growled and then tried to swing with his other fist, at which point Felina deflected it with her left forearm, and then brought her right fist sharply upward into his exposed jaw. Carl flew back, lost his footing, and then fell down, the stiff uppercut catching him completely off guard.

This time Callie wasn't the only one who gasped as the crowd of students stood shocked at the sight. She wondered if the gym was going to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit after that.

Felina walked over to Carl, and extended a hand to him.

"I bet next time you'll think twice before a bunch of girls ask you for help?" Felina said, a smile finally breaking her serious expression.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stick with the weights," Carl said, taking her hand as she helped him up. He was obviously dazed.

"How about a round of applause for Carl, everyone," Felina said.

The other women in the room clapped, amid exchanging glances at one another. This type of instruction was obviously not the type they were accustomed to. Callie only crossed her arms, her expression souring.

Carl forced a smile and exited the room, massaging his jaw as he did so.

"All right, now with that done, I'll need a volunteer to help demonstrate some introductory defensive moves," Felina said, and the group got quiet once more. "How about you, Deputy Mayor?"

* * *

Callie hobbled her way into the women's locker room, her hand pressed at the small of her back. Lt. Feral's use of the word "introductory" was a poor choice, Callie's aching body told her. She walked over to the locker where she had stowed her belongings, and took at seat on the bench in front of it.

"C'mon, Ms. Briggs," the lieutenant had said. "You can't expect the SWAT Kats to be there every time you're in a jam."

Callie hadn't been in a position to respond, having been bent over into a side-headlock and lead around the multipurpose room as Felina lectured to the others about being assertive in life and death situations. Callie missed most of it, her ears pressed too tightly against the much stronger lieutenant's side and bicep. The pathetic hitting Callie had been attempting with her left hand on Felina's back didn't have any effect.

"Maybe I should just buy a larger canister of pepper spray," Callie said to no one.

"In your situation maybe you should be carrying a gun instead," the voice of Lt. Feral said.

Callie nearly jumped out of her skin, and turned to look behind her to see Felina Feral standing there, with her earlier discarded equipment tucked under an arm.

"That's not really something that's politically feasible," Callie said. "Besides, I don't really like them."

Felina set her gear down on the floor and walked over to the row of sinks that lined the wall, turning on a faucet. She began washing her hands.

"Well, anyway, sorry if I roughed you up a little bit back there," Felina said. "I'm not used to this kind of thing, and I think I probably got a little bit carried a way."

"Yeah," Callie said standing up, the pain in her body still present. "You could say that."

"I still meant what I said, though," Felina said as she turned the faucet off and removed some paper towels from the nearby dispenser.

"You'll probably have to be more specific," Callie said as she opened up her locker. "My head was buried in your washboard abs for most of your speech."

Felina laughed and patted herself on the stomach.

"You could have them too. Just need to do about 500 upside down crunches a day," she said. "And, that ties into my point. You can't help others if you can't help yourself, first."

"I'm sure I've heard that kind of self-help advice somewhere before," Callie said, not appreciating what the lieutenant was insinuating.

"I know it sounds a little bit wishy-washy, but it's true. It is the basis of Enforcer training," Felina said. "That, and teamwork."

"That's funny," Callie said. "I thought the basis of Enforcer training was to be disappointing at critical moments."

As soon as the words left her mouth Callie regretted saying them, as Felina's softer expression disappeared in an instant.

"You know, not all of us are like my uncle," Felina said as she picked up her gear and left the locker room.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 3 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

"So, what you're saying is either we close two elementary schools or we shut down the east side fire department," Councilman Anderson said.

Callie had collapsed into bed as soon as she had returned home the night before. The aches in her body had subsided for the most part, though her lower back was still sore. This morning she had conducted her morning routine on autopilot, her tired brain somehow managing to get herself on time to today's City Council meeting. She leaned back in her chair slightly, her eyes red and half-opened. A yawn escaped her mouth.

"That's a bit of an over-simplification," Councilwoman Jones replied. "By adjusting certain budget items we wouldn't have to shut down either."

Callie frowned, the word "budget" caused a pavlovian response in her brain as she sat upright, and spoke up.

"Before this discussion goes much further, I'd just like to remind everyone that the city's budget is nearing its working draft stage, and you'll all have plenty of time to pick it apart after it's officially presented by the Mayor's Office," Callie said.

There was a small grumble among the council members, but no one objected. The sound of a camera shutter could be heard, and Callie noted there was one fewer photographer today.

"Geez, this is so boring!" someone shouted.

The council members including Callie looked up towards the origin of the voice. It came from the nearly empty rows of audience seating. Nearly, because two individuals were sitting in the back. Callie immediately recognized who it was, and wondered how they had managed to enter the room without being noticed.

I need to get better sleep, Callie thought to herself.

"No kidding, Mac," a modulated female voice agreed. "It's almost as bad as listening to you talk."

It was Mac and Molly Mange: the Metallikats.

"Ha ha, very funny," Mac said, feigning amusement, and he stood up, his chrome-plated exterior coming into full view. Molly did the same, and the two strode up together, approaching the semi-circle of council members.

The lone press photographer did a double-take, and started snapping photos rapidly.

"Make sure you get my good side," Molly said, putting a menacing looking clawed hand on her hip, using the other to brush back the "hair" on her head, posing.

"Good luck with that," Mac said sarcastically, and then turned his attention to the council members.

No one had moved a muscle at the revelation of the Metallikats's presence, all knowing full well what the infamous duo were capable of.

"Now, being legally dead and all, I haven't been able to participate in the democratic process very well," Mac said, his red eyes scanning the members. "But that doesn't mean that I don't care."

"What lugnuts here is trying to say is that we'd like to petition the government for grievances," Molly said, and shoved the photographer away, who went spilling over backwards loudly. "And by petition, we mean threaten. And by grievances, we mean money."

"A hundred billion dollars to be exact," Mac said, and pointed a metallic finger at the group.

Callie sighed as she quietly reached into her handbag and pressed the button on her communicator. At the same time, other council members laughed.

"You can't be serious," Councilman Anderson said. "You have to know this city is broke."

"You mean there's a reason this place looks like such a dump lately?" Molly asked rhetorically. "And here I thought the bunch of you were simply keeping a chunk of change for yourselves."

"I find that kind of accusation offensive," Councilman Anderson said, and stood up. "Now if there's nothing further, I think you two should stop disrupting these proceedings."

Callie's mouth opened in shock. She had never seen the overweight city councilman act like this. Had they been putting artificial courage in the donuts, lately?

"Jimmy!" Callie hissed more than whispered. "Shut up before-"

Callie didn't get to finish her warning as Councilman Jimmy Anderson was flung backward, over his chair and onto the spartan floor. Mac Mange's right arm had transformed into some kind of energy weapon, and its barrel was still smoking from the discharge it had directed squarely into Anderson's chest. The councilman remained unmoving.

Several of the other council members screamed as they stood up and started backing away. Callie stood as well, wondering what was taking the SWAT Kats so long.

"Now, as I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted," Mac continued. "Hand us over the money or else."

"And you get no points for guessing what we mean by 'or else'," Molly said, gesturing to Anderson.

"Fine!" Callie shouted, as she slid under the table to get in front of it, standing before the two. "I'll get you your money. Just don't hurt anyone else."

"Oh? But I thought the city was 'broke,'" Mac said mockingly, making quotes with his fingers at the word "broke."

"Yeah, well, you're right. We have been embezzling from the city. Me, specifically," Callie lied.

Molly Mange scratched her chin in thought, and then walked up to Callie, grabbing her by the back of her suit jacket, lifting her inches off the ground. Callie froze in place, defenseless.

"Why should we believe you, Deputy Mayor?" Molly asked, as she held up her other robotic arm, pointing her index finger. The finger split apart like a camera aperture, and a narrow bright blue flame shot out from it. "After all, you were so self-righteous when you denied our parole."

"Yeah," Mac said. "We offered you a fat bribe to get us out of the joint, and you still shot us down."

Callie's mind raced as Molly Mange brought the deadly blue flame closer to her face, the heat of it causing her brow to sweat. She thought quickly, and an excuse came to mind, the details miraculously coming from the recesses of her brain.

"It's because Katscratch offered us a bigger bribe to keep you two locked-up and out of the picture," Callie blurted. "So he could take over the mob!"

The finger and its flame stopped advancing, and Callie was dropped to her feet.

"I knew it!" Molly said. "That fat traitor would sell his own mother out."

"Well, it's a good thing he's already taking a dirt nap," Mac said with a laugh. "All right, Briggs. Leads us to this stash of cash you got set aside, and maybe we'll reconsider killing you. _Maybe_."

The sound of sirens could be heard approaching, along with the squeal of rapidly stopping tires just outside City Hall's lobby entrance.

"I don't keep it here," Callie said, and straightened her suit jacket. "That would be stupid. Let's just leave these other politicians out of this and take a walk outside."

"Fair enough," Molly said, and gave Callie a sharp prod forward. "Lead the way."

The other council members watched in fear as Callie was lead out of the room by the Metallikats.

* * *

The outside of City Hall was surrounded by Enforcer squad cars, their lights sending blue and and red darting across the decorative steps that led up to the lobby. Several of them were in SWAT gear, holding black rifles that were pointed in Callie's direction.

Well, not really my direction, but close enough, Callie thought, as Mac and Molly stood on either side of her.

"No tanks?" Mac asked out-loud. "I'm insulted."

The face of the lead SWAT team member at the bottom of the steps was mostly covered, but his eyes could be seen through the visor he wore. Callie knew in that moment, from his expression, that this group of Enforcers did not arrive prepared to deal with the Metallikats.

"Put your hands up and release the Deputy Mayor!" the Enforcer said, a slight quiver in his voice. He and the others in his group kept their rifles raised and aimed.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Molly said as she walked forward, making a motion of cracking her knuckles. The lead Enforcer pulled the trigger of his gun, the loud sound of automatic gunfire at close range caused Callie to drop to her knees, covering her ears with both hands.

The other Enforcers did the same, all firing at Molly Mange who was walking calmly down the steps toward them, bullets harmlessly impacting and ricocheting off her metallic body. As the lead Enforcer was about to order his men to fall back, Molly lunged forward, grabbed the barrel of his rifle and snatched it out of his grasp. She then swung it like a club, the stock colliding with his head, causing his helmet to crack and the visor to shatter.

Callie winced as she saw him collapse on the steps.

"Good one, Molly!" Mac laughed.

The other Enforcers ceased fire and began to withdraw. Molly crossed her arms, a sadistic smile on her mechanical face.

"Yeah, you better run," she said.

"Get up!" Mac ordered as he reached down to pull Callie to her feet by the shoulder. His mechanical grasp was harsh, and Callie's shoulder protested in pain.

"Please, just let me take you to where the money is and stop hurting people!" Callie begged as Mac pulled her along down the steps.

"We're getting to that, blondie," Molly said, as she effortlessly tore the driver's side door off of the nearest squad car.

"One of the first things we're buying is a sweet ride," Mac said as he shoved Callie into the car. It was with enough force to send her sliding all the way to the passenger side where she collided with the closed passenger door, bumping her head on the glass. The world started to get foggy for Callie, the words of Mac and Molly no longer making sense as darkness filled her vision and she lost consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 4 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

"You can count on us, Ms. Briggs," the familiar voices of T-Bone and Razor echoed in Callie's head.

"What took you two so long?" Callie said as her eyes slowly opened, and the harsh light of the world came pouring in.

Wincing, she reflexively brought her hand to cover her eyes, and noticed something attached to her wrist. An IV drip. Callie immediately recognized her surroundings as a recovery room at Megakat Memorial Hospital, and she was lying in a bed wearing a patient gown. But, no one else was there.

"Just another dream," she said to herself, and felt the side of her head throb. "Or a hallucination brought on by brain damage."

Callie's stomach gurgled and she wondered how long it had been since she last ate, just as the door to the room opened. A nurse walked inside.

"Oh good, you're awake," she said cheerily, and walked to Callie's side to adjust the IV drip.

"How long have I been here?" Callie asked.

"About two days," the nurse said, completing her adjustments. "You hit your head pretty hard, but according to the doctors there shouldn't be any permanent damage."

"That's a relief," Callie said with a sigh. "I suppose it was the SWAT Kats who brought me here?"

"Well, uh, no, Ms. Briggs," the nurse said, her tone changing. "It was the Enforcers who brought you here."

* * *

Several doctors came in throughout the day, looking over X-Rays and MRI printouts, and made a point to remind Callie how lucky she was. But her mind was elsewhere as they spoke, as a deepening worry overcame her. Her earlier dismissive thoughts about the glitches her communicator had demonstrated seemed like awful warnings in hindsight now.

"Just make sure to take it easy for at least a week," one of the doctors said.

"I'll do my best," Callie said flatly.

The doctor left, leaving Callie alone. Her IV drip had been removed, and her discharge papers were sitting on a table next to her bed. She was free to leave. Callie got up, and walked over to one of the unvarnished chairs in the corner of the room. Her clothes were folded semi-neatly there, torn in places, and covered with a few splatters of blood. Hers, she realized.

She quickly changed into them as the door to the room was knocked upon.

"Come in," Callie said as she buttoned up her blouse.

The door opened, and Commander Feral walked in. He was carrying Callie's courier bag under his arm, which he placed on the hospital bed.

"I recovered this from the crime scene for you," Commander Feral said. "You'll find all of its contents still within."

"Thank you," Callie said as she picked it up and glanced within. Her personal effects including wallet, computer, some beauty products and a few hard copies of pending legislation were all there. As was the communicator, which was still silently blinking red.

"It's good to see you're back on your feet, Deputy Mayor," Feral said sincerely.

"It's more than I can say for Councilman Anderson," Callie said with a resigned sigh. "I know he and I weren't exactly friends, quite the opposite in fact. But…"

"I've read the witness testimony from the other council members," Feral offered. "He died bravely."

Callie brushed away a tear, the severity of the Metallikat's actions seemingly coming into full realization.

"I still don't know what happened after they took me," Callie said. "I know Molly attacked one of your men. Is he…?"

"Corporal Steven Myers," Feral said. "He suffered a severe concussion and a broken collar bone. He's in intensive care, but he'll live."

"That's a relief," Callie said, taking some comfort from that.

They both stood quietly in the room for a few moments, neither saying a thing. Feral walked over to the window of the room, spreading a set of the metal venetian blinds with his fingers to peer out the view, and began to speak again.

"Mac and Molly, upon realizing they had incapacitated you, began to argue," Feral said. "During their disagreement, one of my Enforcers arrived on the scene and managed to get you away from them."

"And then?" Callie asked.

"Realizing you had been taken from them, they pursued, and destroyed a good portion of Fifth Street in the process," Feral continued. "Fortunately, your rescuer managed to lose them, and get you here."

"And the Metallikats?"

"Still at large," Feral said. "But I can assure you, we're handling the situation."

Callie sighed, and held back verbally expressing her disappointment, wondering if he was going to mention the obvious. She did not have to wait long.

"Where were they, Deputy Mayor?" Feral asked, his tone surprisingly neutral.

"I don't know how to answer that question right now," Callie said.

"I see," Feral said, and he released the blinds, causing them to snap closed. "Well, Ms. Briggs, I'd suggest you take some time off to recover."

"You're not the only one," Callie said.

Feral turned, and as he began to leave, Callie spoke up again.

"Please pass along my thanks to your man for rescuing me," she said.

The Commander stiffened, and his voice changed ever so slightly. Callie thought she could hear just a twinge of irritation in his voice, but it wasn't directed at Callie.

"Woman, Deputy Mayor," Commander Feral said. "My niece was the one who rescued you."

* * *

The hospital checkout was uneventful, though Callie did wind up having to pay a $2500 deductible for her emergency room visit.

I'll just have to reschedule my sedan's tune-up for next month, she thought to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. Money was going to be a little bit tighter for the next few weeks. Still, it was a small price to pay for a mostly clean bill of health.

Fortunately, the City Hall parking garage was only a few blocks away from the hospital, so she wouldn't have to worry about hailing a cab.

The aching in Callie's head had subsided thanks to the ibuprofen she had been given, which cleared up her mind to consider the situation. The SWAT Kats had failed to appear. Callie considered that maybe her communicator was malfunctioning, but that wouldn't explain why they didn't show up when the Metallikats had made a public spectacle.

The shadows of skyscrapers began to elongate as the sun began to set, engulfing the city in a reddish hue. Other pedestrians passed by, the foot traffic minimal on a Sunday evening. Callie's weekend was shot, a thought that quickly made her feel guilty and selfish.

There would be a memorial held for Councilman Anderson, and she would have to coordinate a response with the Mayor, factoring in what kind of political effect it would have on the administration. It was not a notion that Callie liked to think about, but it was the price of being Deputy Mayor in Megakat City.

As Callie neared the parking garage, a familiar face was waiting for her just outside of its entrance. Callie realized she must have just narrowly avoided an assault from reporters when she exited the hospital. Ann Gora, being the seasoned journalist she was, had likely deduced where Callie was most likely to go.

"Deputy Mayor Briggs, would you care to comment about your recent experience with the Metallikats and why the SWAT Kats were not present?" Ann Gora, reporter for Kat's Eye News asked, holding out a microphone. Her cameraman was at her side.

"Well, Ann," Callie said, any irritation she felt hidden by years of media training. "I'd first like to say that I am deeply sorry for the loss of Councilman Anderson, and my condolences go to his family."

Ann Gora patiently waited for Callie to continue.

"As for the SWAT Kats, I can't really comment on that at this time," Callie said. "But I've been told by Commander Feral himself that his Enforcers are on the case, and that the Metallikats will be taken into custody soon."

A perfect few seconds of B-roll, Callie knew, and Ann seemed satisfied as she lowered the microphone.

"That should do it, Johnny," Ann said to her cameraman. "You head back to the van and get that prepped for the 11 o'clock segment. I'll catch up."

Johnny nodded and headed into the parking garage, while Ann turned to Callie again.

"Off the record, is there anything you know about the SWAT Kats disappearance?" Ann asked.

Callie sighed, and looked at Ann with a defeated look on her face. She had fostered a professional relationship with the reporter over the years, and knew that "off the record" with Ann Gora was always honored.

"I don't know what's going on," Callie said. "I haven't heard from them in over a week now, and with the Metallikats making a public scene and they still don't make an appearance…"

"You don't think they quit, do you?" Ann asked.

The thought had never crossed Callie's mind, but she considered it a moment and shook her head.

"No, I don't think they quit," Callie said. "I don't think they ever would, and even if they did, they'd tell me."

Ann Gora nodded, knowing that left another option, but she didn't mention it out loud.

"Well, at least Lt. Feral was able to help you out," Ann said. "I'd love to get an exclusive with her, but she doesn't want to talk with the press."

"Yeah," Callie said. "That sounds like her."

"Well, thanks for the statement, Callie," Ann said. "And-."

"Get some rest," Callie finished. "I know, I know."

* * *

Callie managed to make it to her sedan without further interruption. She unlocked the door and slid into the driver's seat, closing the door. She sat there for a few moments, and then opened up her bag. She rifled around briefly and withdrew the triangular communicator, and pressed the button.

"SWAT Kats, come in," she spoke into it, and waited,

Nothing happened. Callie pressed the button again.

"T-Bone, Razor, are either of you there?" she asked.

Again, nothing. Callie held the gadget up to her ear to listen, and she could hear a faint noise of static coming through it.

"This thing's on," she said to herself, and frowned.

As Callie prepared to speak into it again, the communicator came to life, and a loud feedback noise screeched loudly. Callie jumped in her seat, and dropped the communicator. It fell onto the empty passenger seat, and as it did, the noise abruptly stopped.

"What is wrong with this thing," she said as she collected herself and reached to pick it up. Before it was in her grasp, she paused, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. A new sound was coming from the communicator's speaker. It was slow, and barely audible. Who, or even what made the noise, Callie didn't know, but it was unmistakable.

Breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 5 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

On average it would take one nearly an hour to reach the reclusive Bayside Properties from City Hall. Callie had managed to drive there in half that time. Speeding tickets were not a concern at the moment, her entire focus on the disturbing noises she had heard.

_Who was that? What was that? Where are T-Bone and Razor? Are they hurt? Are they…dead?_

Callie's throat tightened at the last thought, and she pushed her foot down on the accelerator harder. Her sedan kicked up some of the loose gravel, as she rounded a corner, the distant remnants of a sunset still casting fiery glows on the horizon. The road to the Bayside Properties was a narrow two lanes, with Jeffrey pine on a steep incline to the right and the serene waters of Megakat Bay to the left. To call it scenic would be an understatement.

Callie slowed to make a turn onto a barely noticeable private road that led to a beach-front property. An otherwise ominous looking gate was in the open position, revealing the rear side of a modern looking home's back yard.

Or maybe it's more of a courtyard, Callie thought, as she pulled within and parked just outside an open garage door. As Callie exited her sedan, communicator in hand, a lone individual emerged from the garage. With his unimposing demeanor and a cane-propped posture affected by age, not many would suspect Professor Hackle of having been one of Puma Dyne's leading weapons designers. Then again, Callie thought, neither would Hackle, if his reasons for retiring were to be believed.

Callie had never fully reconciled how the accidental creator of the Metallikats could not have known that his inventions were being weaponized. But, there were few people she could turn to at the moment, and Hackle, she determined, was her best bet.

"Good evening Deputy Mayor, though like yourself I wonder how 'good' it really is," Hackle said with a resigned sigh. "Your friends at the Enforcers already stopped by a short while ago."

"I'm not here to talk to you about the Metallikats," Callie said, resisting the urge to berate Hackle. "I have another problem that could use your expertise."

"I see," Hackle said, and motioned with his cane. "Step into my lab."

Callie followed Hackle into the garage, and upon entering, noticed the word lab hardly did it justice. Various types of computer equipment, large wall-mounted monitors, test tubes, stainless steel tables, and shelves upon shelves of mechanical parts lined the interior. It would be the perfect set to any movie featuring a mad scientist.

On one of the monitors the MBC Evening News was playing, and Hackle turned the volume down.

"What can I help you with, Deputy Mayor Briggs?" Hackle asked.

"I have a certain…device," Callie began, as she held up the now quiet communicator. "It lets me secretly contact certain friends."

Hackle reached forward and took the communicator from Callie with his free hand, and held it close to his spectacled eyes, examining closely.

"The problem is, it hasn't been working, I think," Callie tried to explain. "It's been making strange noises every so often."

"I think you and I share the same friends," Hackle said as he set Callie's communicator down on the nearest table.

"Are you sure?" Callie asked, and then blinked as Hackle reached into his lab coat pocket and withdrew an identical triangular communicator, and set it down next to hers.

"Occasionally the SWAT Kats ask for my technological expertise with certain problems," Hackle explained. "It's the least I can do for them."

"Great, that means I can get ahold of those two," Callie said, and reached for Hackle's communicator.

"That won't help, I'm afraid," Hackle said. "I attempted to contact them days ago, but to no avail."

Callie frowned, her fears now cementing. She now knew her communicator wasn't malfunctioning.

"Then, that means…" Callie began, her voice unsteady.

"It doesn't have to mean anything," Hackle said, attempting to be reassuring.

He walked over to a monitor with several complicated looking graphs and numbers running across. Hackle tapped a few commands into a control panel, and the image switched to a minimalistic map with a marker that Callie recognized was showing their current position at the Bayside Properties.

"When I first started noticing the audio anomalies coming from my communicator, I too thought it must have been malfunctioning," Hackle explained. "After using my diagnostic equipment, I quickly determined it was in perfect working order."

"So, after several failures to establish contact with the SWAT Kats, I decided to try something a little more proactive," Hackle continued. "Though, I did so with great hesitation."

"You traced their communication signal?" Callie asked. "Razor said that it was encrypted and bounced through several relays, or something. It sounded really complicated."

"It was complicated," Hackle said. "But, not impossible for someone like myself."

Hackle tapped in another command, and the map changed in scale, expanding to show a greater distance. Callie watched as it kept expanding, going beyond the limits of Megakat City, until it stopped at what must have been a thousand miles west. A second marker appeared, blinking.

"That's where they are?" Callie asked.

"That is where the signal that our communicators have been receiving is coming from," Hackle confirmed, and pointed at the map. Callie frowned, not recognizing the location.

"This is in the middle of the Felidae Ergs," Hackle said. "It's an empty desert, with no population centers for hundreds of miles."

"What would they be doing out there?" Callie asked.

"I cannot say for certain," Hackle said. "But, that area was used for weapons testing in the past."

"Weapons testing?" Callie asked. "Like military bombs and stuff?"

"Yes," Hackle said, and paused before continuing. "Among other things."  
Callie tensed, her authority as Deputy Mayor taking over as she walked up to Hackle, patience running thin.

"I'd appreciate it if you would please be frank with me, Professor," Callie said, her tone serious. "Someone is dead because the SWAT Kats were prevented from being here. I'm confident of that now. I don't have time to take part in riddles."

Hackle sighed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that this topic brings back a lot of unpleasant memories of my days at Puma Dyne. You see, the Felidae Ergs were where a number of our inventions were tested. It wasn't just a proving ground. It was a secret proving ground. The kind of place you do things that you don't want anyone to know about."

"Illegal things?" Callie pressed.

"…Yes," Hackle confessed. "But, I cannot prove it. My involvement was limited only to the projects I partook in, which were enough to convince me to retire."

"It's too bad you couldn't have decided to do that sooner," Callie said, a bit more harshly than she had intended. Hackle said nothing, and Callie's expression softened. Her head was starting to hurt again, and she reached into her pocket to withdraw the bottle of medication and took two of the pills dry.

"It's my turn to apologize," Callie said after a moment. "Even if the SWAT Kats weren't missing, things still wouldn't quite be okay."

"Perhaps I can provide something to help you," Hackle said as he turned back to the metal table and attached a small tablet computer to the back of Callie's triangular communicator. After a few moments it came to life, showing a simplistic map display.

"This attachment reads the signal and decrypts it, translating it into directions," Hackle explained, and held it to Callie.

"It's not exactly like the GPS in my sedan," Callie said as she looked it over, quickly determining how it worked. "But I guess it could work."

"I was tempted to provide the Enforcers with this, but I didn't know if that would have been the right thing to do," Hackle said.

"No, you did the right thing by giving this to me," Callie said quickly, and pocketed the now slightly larger communicator. "And, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone about this, at least not yet."

With no SWAT Kats appearing to stop the Metallikats, and the media's piqued interest, Callie didn't want to proclaim the SWAT Kats missing in action. Megakat City had too many enemies who would already be licking their chops at the speculative news without the mayor's office, or worse the Enforcers, making it official.

"If there's anything else I can do," Hackle began, and Callie waved her hand.

"No, not for this," Callie said, her attention drifting back to the MBC News that was muted on the screen. File footage of the Metallikats was being shown. "But, I'd appreciate it if you could aid the Enforcers with them."

"My efforts are already underway," Hackle said, and then another thought occurred to him. "You're not planning on venturing all the way out to the desert on your own, are you?"

Callie didn't answer immediately, as she was contemplating that very idea. She knew that she couldn't approach Commander Feral with this information. He would no doubt dispatch every resource at his disposal if he knew exactly where he could find the SWAT Kats. But, once he found them, Callie knew that Feral would have them arrested. He might even discover who they really were. This thought concerned Callie, as she knew there were probably good reasons why T-Bone and Razor wore masks.

_No, I can't go to Commander Feral, at least not yet. I have to try every other option first. But, I can't do this alone. Who can I turn to?_

The news footage on the screen transitioned to the high speed chase Callie had been unconsciously a part of. It was shot from a helicopter's view, and it was currently zoomed in on the driver of the squad car who had rescued her. Lt. Felina Feral.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 6 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Callie had returned home shortly after midnight, and collapsed into her unmade bed, too tired to take off her damaged clothes. When she awoke the next morning, the pain in her head had returned, and she took some more ibuprofen. Callie showered briefly, and put on a more casual set of clothes afterward, consisting of denim jeans, tennis shoes and a white, busted t-shirt.

The city's government was effectively shut down until further notice due to the Metallikats. Commander Feral had assigned several of his Enforcers to guard City Hall, but none of the council members would be showing up at the building anytime soon. Callie knew that Manx was likely using this as a holiday to perfect his golf game.

This, in combination with her recovery from injury, meant that Callie would have some private time where her absence from the public wouldn't cause any suspicion or concern. Callie exited her bedroom and entered her pristine kitchen. It was pristine due to lack of use, as it primarily served as a receiving station for take-out orders. Today, only one item was on the counter-top. Her communicator, modified by Hackle.

Callie picked it up and looked it over. The newly attached display was still showing the signal overlaid on a simple map. She walked forward with it in hand, and noticed that the "you are here" marker moved as well, and output an emotionless "blip" noise.

"Hot potato," she said to no one, and pocketed the gadget into her jean pocket. Callie took a baseball cap with the Megakat Badger's logo on it off of the coat rack near her front door, and put her signature blonde hair back in a pony tail through the hat's opening. She put on her glasses, grabbed her car keys and exited her house, taking one last glance at it, hoping that she would be seeing it again soon.

* * *

"Oh, Deputy Mayor, good to see you on your feet," the dispatcher in the lobby of Enforcer Headquarters said.

Callie had seen her dozens of times, but she could never remember her name, and was too embarrassed to ask. The last bit of sub sandwich Callie had eaten on her way through the door didn't help matters much, and she reached into her jean pocket and dug around for a napkin amid the plastic wrapper and sauce packets.

"Yeah, well, that's modern medicine for you," Callie said and she dabbed her face.

"Just give me a moment to let the Commander know to expect you," the dispatcher said as she picked up the handset of her office phone.

"Actually," Callie said, interrupting. "I'm here to see someone else this time."

"Oh?" the dispatcher asked as she set down the handset.

"I need to speak to Lt. Felina Feral," Callie said. "And, if possible, I'd like to do so without the Commander knowing. He always seems to get…irritated when her name comes up."

The dispatcher smiled and reached into a drawer to withdraw a laminated visitor badge and held it out to her.

"Ms. Briggs, you don't know the half of it," she said.

* * *

Enforcer Headquarters was a mega-structure unlike any other in the city. It served as a combination police station, military garrison and airport, with thousands of staff, troops, pilots and support personnel. Callie had taken a series of elevators nearly a hundred stories up to reach what was called the flight deck, the uppermost sections of the building containing hangars, aircraft and the expansive runways that protruded from the building. Her presence had resulted in several glances in her direction, but the pinned visitor's badge on her chest allowed her passage without incident.

Callie waited, tapping her foot as the final elevator arrived at the destination floor. She knew she was going in the right direction, with two other Enforcers in pilot gear riding along with her. Once the doors opened, they exited in a hurry, seemingly with somewhere to be.

The spartan interior looked more like the inside of a battleship than an office building, with several exposed pipes and conduits running along the ceiling. The floor vibrated every so often, and Callie knew it was the result of numerous aircraft taking off and landing.

Callie walked down the hall, passing by numerous doors that were open. The first she passed looked like a small classroom, and it was decorated with several framed photos and engraved plaques. At the head of it was a podium with a worn Enforcer logo hanging from the front of it. At present, it was unoccupied.

The second door in the hallway was also open. The words "C.A.G. Gorman" could be seen stenciled on the window. Callie recalled the name from the event Dark Kat had planned to disrupt two months ago. She knocked on the open door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gorman?" Callie asked, peeking in.

"That's Captain Gorman, Ms. Briggs," said someone from within.

Callie walked inside, and saw Captain Gorman sitting at a neatly organized desk where he was sipping from a white coffee mug with the Enforcer logo on it. He wasn't that old, probably in his late-twenties, and he was reasonably good looking, though there was something about him that Callie found unappealing.

Maybe it's the mustache, she thought to herself.

"I apologize, Captain Gorman," Callie emphasized.

"It's not often we get visitors from the outside world in our little crow's nest up here," Gorman said as he stood up. Behind him was a large window that overlooked one of the primary landing strips. A single-engined jet fighter with the Enforcer color scheme could be seen coming in for a landing. It came to an abrupt stop as a tow-hook underneath it caught a landing line.

"You know, I've never gotten used to the setup you have here," Callie said, walking closer to the window. "It's just like an aircraft carrier in the clouds."

"Not exactly," Gorman said, standing next to her. "This place doesn't jostle in the waves."

"I'm looking for Lt. Feral," Callie said, and turned to face him.

Gorman laughed and walked away from the window, returning to his desk to take a seat.

"If you're looking to say thanks, you could've just sent her a card," Gorman said.

"Is she here?" Callie asked.

"She is," Gorman said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat.

Callie frowned, growing tired of playing games.

"Where can I find her?" Callie asked flatly.

Gorman looked to his left, glancing at a schedule pinned to a cork board.

"The lieutenant should've just finished her patrol," Gorman said. "I'd bet you can find her in the weight room, down the hall, four doors on your left."

"Thank you," Callie said, and turned away, walking out of the Captain's office. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her leave. Callie wasn't sure what to make of Gorman, but she didn't have the time to figure him out.

* * *

The Crow's Nest, as Gorman had called it, spanned the uppermost floors of Enforcer Headquarters, and it was complete with the full amenities one could expect in any military barracks. At the moment it seemed deserted, and Callie assumed that everyone was on duty. The weight room's door, like the others, was open, and as Callie walked inside she was instantly greeted with the smell of perspiration, along with a few other scents Callie didn't care to try to identify.

Unlike the 24 hour gym Callie went to, this one felt much less inviting, and included a boxing ring in the center, which seemed a little awkward due to the room's not so-high ceiling. Sounds of exertion were being made on the opposite side, and as Callie rounded the ring, she could see a lone person lying on her back, wearing Enforcer issue khaki pants and a well-worn grey t-shirt, doing bench presses with an impressive amount of weights.

"Is it safe to be doing that alone?" Callie asked. "Without a spotter, I mean?"

Lt. Felina Feral grunted, strain visible on her face as she pushed the weights up from her chest and docked the bar on the bench. It clanged as it made contact. She sat upright, and reached down to take a swig of water from a sports bottle.

"No," Felina said. "But no one else was around."

"I wanted to say thank you for rescuing me," Callie said. "And, I also wanted to apologize for what I said to you last week."

"Yeah, well, someone had to do it," Felina said as she laid back down, and reached up to grab the weighted bar and began to do another set of reps.

Callie walked around Felina, crossing her arms as she spoke.

"But, that's not the only reason I came here," Callie explained. "Something's happened."

"Then call the SWAT Kats," Felina blurted in-between breaths. Callie had lost count how many Felina was up to.

Callie sighed.

"That's what this is about. They're missing," Callie admitted.

"Figured as much," Felina strained as she spoke, and put the bar back in place with a loud clang. She sat up and then stood, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe the perspiration off her face and neck.

Callie reached into her pocket and took out the modified communicator and held it out. Felina glanced at it, and discarded the towel as she took the device in her hand and looked it over.

"So, this is how you get ahold of them?" Felina surmised.

"Usually, but I haven't been able to recently. And, there were a lot of weird sounds coming through it," Callie explained. "I took it to someone who's familiar with this kind of thing, and he was able to convert it into a tracking device."

Felina looked at the newly attached display and held it up, moving it around from left-to-right, apparently realizing what Callie had earlier.

"Hot potato," she said as she moved it, and pointed it in another direction. "Cold potato."

"It also has the approximate destination if you zoom it out," Callie said.

Felina tapped two fingers on the display to confirm it for herself, and read off what it said on the screen.

"Felidae Ergs," Felina said with puzzlement. "What's an erg?"

"It's a kind of desert, with sand dunes, or something," Callie said.

"Well, whatever it is, it's about 1,200 clicks away," Felina said as she handed the communicator back. "Good luck finding a flight out there."

Callie pocketed the communicator and clasped her hands in front of herself.

"That's where I thought maybe you could help," Callie began.

Felina laughed and reached down to pick up her sports bottle, and began walking around the boxing ring. Callie frowned and followed after.

"I'm serious, lieutenant," Callie said, keeping pace.

"I know, that's why it's funny," Felina said as she reached the weight room's entrance, and walked across the main corridor into a locker room that was directly across. Callie chased after her, going inside as well.

"Well, I don't find it amusing," Callie said, catching up to Felina who was at an open locker and in the process of disrobing, which caused Callie to avert her gaze. Callie turned her back and spoke over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"This is a locker room. I just worked out. Now I'm hitting the showers," Felina said.

The noise of running water could be now be heard.

"Anyway, as I was saying, this isn't funny," Callie continued as she closed her eyes. The steam from the shower was making her glasses fog, and she took them off to wipe them with the bottom of her shirt. "Mac Mange killed someone because the SWAT Kats weren't there to stop him."

"I know," Felina said from the showers, obscured from view.

Callie turned around, and put her glasses back on as she took a seat at a bench that ran between the lockers, placing her elbows on her knees and her palms on her forehead. The headache was back.

"Then why won't you help me?" Callie asked.

"Because it'd be against regulation," Felina said. "You're breaking the chain of command. You need to talk to the Commander about this."

"I can't go to him with this," Callie said, and then recalled what Felina had said earlier in the week. "You told me that not all of you are like him. What did you mean by that?"

There was a pause, and the water from the shower stopped running. After a moment Callie looked up to see Felina standing in front of her, modestly covered in a towel.

"I meant that not all of us are blind slaves to rules," Felina said.

"Your uncle," Callie pieced together. "You disobeyed his orders when you rescued me from the Metallikats, didn't you?"

Felina didn't answer as she walked back to her locker, and opened the door. Callie looked away as the lieutenant changed into her uniform.

"Why?" Callie asked.

"Heavy armor backup was still 15 minutes away, and those two idiots would've killed you by then, either accidentally or on purpose," Felina explained as she zipped up a khaki jacket adorned with pockets and official looking patches and insignia. "And, because it was the right thing to do."

"They could've killed you," Callie said.

"Risk is part of the job," Felina said. "You don't get to be a professional badass like myself otherwise."

"Then, lieutenant," Callie said as she stood up. "I'm asking you to please do the right thing again."

Felina sighed and rolled her eyes, and then closed the door of her locker.

"Alright, Deputy Mayor. I'll help you."


	7. Chapter 7

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 7 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

When Lt. Feral had agreed to help, Callie didn't realize that the help would be immediate as the two were now walking side-by-side through an equipment locker. Felina was shoving aside boxes, and finally pulled one down from a high shelf, locating what she was looking for.

"This should do it," Felina said as she opened the box, revealing a flight helmet, jumpsuit and assorted gear within.

"Are you sure right now's the best time?" Callie asked, as she reached down and began putting the grey jumpsuit on over her clothes.

"There's an unmanned monitoring station about 800 clicks in roughly the same direction," Felina explained. "Every two weeks one of us gets sent out there to replace a battery. It's a boring mission usually assigned to trainees."

"Or punishment for pilots who disobey orders?" Callie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You catch on quick," Felina said. "Fortunately, there's one leaving within the hour. The monitoring station has a landing strip and refueling facilities. I sneak you in on my Sabre, fly the mission like normal, swap the battery, pick up some extra fuel pods, and take a detour on the return flight to this desert of yours."

"Didn't you just finish a shift, though?" Callie asked as she put the helmet on.

"I'll pull rank. They won't ask questions, and they'll be happy not to do it," Felina said. "Besides, it's not unheard of for me to have to make that run."

"If you say so," Callie said, and then held out her arms at her side. "Well, how do I look?"

Felina grimaced at the ill-fitting attire that Callie was now wearing.

"Well, no one would suspect you for the Deputy Mayor," Felina said, and flipped the visor down over Callie's face, partially concealing it. "Just don't talk to anyone, and stick close."

"Yes sir," Callie said half-heartedly with a mock salute.

* * *

The two exited the storeroom, and walked down the hall. Red directional lines labeled FLIGHT DECK ran alongside the walls. Other pilots were starting to walk in the opposite direction, and more than once they gave Callie a suspicious glance.

"Prospective recruit," Felina said. "I'm going to scare her out of joining up."

One of the pilots laughed at that and continued on his way.

"Stay close, and try not to touch anything," Felina cautioned Callie as the two neared a large set of closed steel double doors. "This place can be dangerous."

Callie wondered what Felina could mean, and immediately realized as the doors opened. Callie was assaulted by a cacophony of noise, made up of a combination of wind, jet engines and steam. They were now standing on the flight deck, which was bustling with activity, as several personnel were moving wheeled crates, carrying refueling lines, and directing taxiing aircraft with handheld beacons.

Callie could barely hear herself think, and as her attention panned to the left, she became dizzy. This particular doorway was right near the edge of the runway, and the streets of Megakat City could be seen a hundred stories below. Despite the presence of a guard rail, the overwhelming feeling of vertigo overcame her and she fell to her knees.

_I must've hit my head harder than I thought._

"Come on!" Felina shouted, and lifted Callie up by her shoulders.

Callie stumbled along, dragged more than led by the lieutenant who expertly circumnavigated the controlled chaos of the flight deck until they arrived at a less busy corner where an Enforcer Jet, a Sabre, was canopy was open and a wheeled ladder was attached.

Felina shoved Callie upwards, and she climbed up the ladder and fell into the cockpit, landing awkwardly into the second, rear seat.

"Wait here," Felina ordered, and then disappeared from sight.

Callie took the moment to get as comfortable as possible in the tight accommodations. Her queasiness was subsiding, and hesitations started coming to mind.

_What am I doing? I'm not some professional soldier like Lt. Feral. I'm a working politician. I attend meetings, appease constituents and solve problems from the comfort of a cluttered desk in a modest office. _

Images of Mac Mange shooting Councilman Anderson and Molly Mange nearly clubbing Corporal Myers to death came to mind, and her thoughts cleared.

_I have to do this. The SWAT Kats are my responsibility. This city needs them. _

Callie started feeling other emotions, and realized her resolve wasn't based purely on protecting the city.

_I need them, too._

"We're all set," the voice of the lieutenant said, startling Callie out of her thoughts. Her head had just popped into view as she climbed up the ladder.

"It was that easy?" Callie asked.

"Like I said, no one likes doing this run," Felina said as she reached in and pulled Callie's flight harness into place, locking the Deputy Mayor in her seat tightly. Callie could see several personnel wearing purple colored shirts running fuel lines to the Sabre. Another pair wearing red shirts were moving a wheeled cart over and under the wing.

"What are they doing?" Callie asked, curiously, eager to get her mind off what might lay ahead.

"The guys in purple do fuel. The guys in red do ordnance," Felina explained as she climbed into the pilot's seat and put on her helmet, securing her own harness in the process.

"Ordnance? Like bombs?" Callie asked.

"Not on this load-out," Felina said in Callie's head. The lieutenant had switched to the internal mic system, and her voice was now coming through Callie's helmet. "Today it's just a pair of Am-Rams and 1,200 rounds of 20 millimeter."

Callie wasn't sure what that meant, but from the lieutenant's tone it sounded modest at best.

"Is that going to be enough?" Callie asked.

"Why?" Felina asked as she flipped some switches on her control board. "Is there a reason that wouldn't be?"

Callie wasn't sure how to answer that. In their rush to be underway, she had neglected to tell Felina the full details of what Hackle had disclosed.

"Well, it's just that-" Callie began, but was interrupted as communication chatter filled her ears.

"Sabre Three-Five-Niner, prepare to taxi to position 18," a male voice said.

"Sabre Three-Five-Niner acknowledged," Felina said into her helmet's mic. The personnel around their Sabre had moved away, and the canopy was now closing shut. Felina flipped several move switches and their single-engined aircraft rumbled to life. Callie's hands grabbed onto the small corners of her chair that hardly qualified as armrests.

Felina pushed gently forward on the throttle and they began to move forward. One of the flight deck crew dressed in yellow was guiding them forward to an open position on the runway. Felina came to a stop, as other personnel secured equipment underneath the Sabre. Must be the catapult, Callie realized, and then tightened her grip further, starting to feel sick with anxiety.

"Don't worry," Felina said, sensing Callie's unease. "Just think of it as the best roller-coaster ride in the world."

"Sabre Three-Five-Niner, you are set for takeoff. Check for workers," the tower said.

"Workers checked," Felina said, looking left to right, seeing all personnel were clear, and then added. "All are working."

Callie heard the person snicker over the radio.

"Flight plan logged. Blue skies ahead. Remember, no tips for the deliveries," the tower said.

"Roger," Felina said, taking her hands off the control stick and grabbing onto handles.

"Wait, does that mean we're-" Callie started, but was cut off as she was slammed back into her seat, the world ahead rushing forward, the Sabre's engine roaring from behind. As the jet lurched over the edge of the runway, it dropped down just enough for Callie's stomach to nearly lurch up her throat. Felina had taken the control stick at that moment, and was now guiding them upwards while banking to the left.

Callie could see the extensive skyline of the Megakat City sprawl below just out the canopy, and it was rapidly growing smaller and more distant. The banking leveled out, and soon the jet was moving steadily along.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Felina said. "Unfortunately, there's no inflight movie."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Callie said as she reached through the jumpsuit and dug into her pocket, taking out the modified communicator. It was still functioning, showing their position in the Sabre moving roughly in the destination's direction.

"We should arrive at the monitoring station in four hours," Felina said.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: My Responsibility Chapter 8 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The first hour passed without much conversation, as Callie pondered over Hackle's description over their ultimate destination. What would the SWAT Kats be doing in such a place, she wondered. The outside world below had gradually changed from metropolitan, to rural, to the scorched emptiness of Megakat Desert: a large expanse far to the west of the city.

The Enforcer monitoring station, Callie knew, was in the Panthera Mountain Range that served as a natural divide to Megakat Desert and the region beyond where the Felidae Ergs awaited. She hoped the forest in those mountains wouldn't upset her allergies too much. As she thought about it, the monitoring station seemed a bit peculiar, and Callie couldn't put her finger on why.

"You know, I don't recall seeing anything about monitoring stations being in the Enforcer's budget proposal," Callie said, breaking the silence.

"Probably because they aren't technically the Enforcer's," Felina said. "They were built by Puma Dyne."

"Puma Dyne?" Callie asked.

"Yeah. It's a little arrangement we have. We run batteries to these things, and they let us tap into the data the stations collect," Felina said. "It's a pretty good deal. Extends our threat detection substantially."

"Well, that's awfully nice of them," Callie said, but couldn't help but wonder why. "And they have these things everywhere?"

"Not everywhere," Felina said. "Mostly in a line along the Panthera Range."

Callie frowned, wondering if it was only coincidence that Puma Dyne had these monitoring stations just outside of the Felidae Ergs where they were allegedly doing illegal weapons testing, if Hackle was to be believed. Why would there be a need for threat detection in such a remote area if they weren't? What kind of threat were they supposed to detect?

Callie now regretted that she had been in such a hurry.

_I should have tried to talk to someone at Puma Dyne first._

"So, do you know who they really are?" Felina asked.

"Who? Oh, the SWAT Kats," Callie said. "No, I don't"

"Really?" Felina asked. "I mean, you can tell me if you do."

"No, I really don't, lieutenant," Callie said.

"Well, they sure seem to know you," Felina said.

Callie couldn't see Felina's face from her position behind her, but imagined a wry grin was on her face.

"What are you insinuating?" Callie asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Felina said. "They're obviously crazy about you."

Callie rolled her eyes.

"And, you're obviously crazy about them," Felina continued.

"My relationship with T-Bone and Razor is purely professional," Callie said. "Well, as professional as a relationship between a city's deputy mayor and a duo of masked vigilantes can be."

"Uh-huh," Felina said.

"Look, lieutenant, I don't appreciate you taking amusement at this," Callie said, growing irritated. "This is serious."

"Yeah, it is," Felina said. "So serious that you came in-person. You know, you could've handed that little device over to me and I could've gone by myself."

"Maybe," Callie said. "But I need to be present for this."

Silence filled the cockpit as the two didn't exchange words for some time.

"Just…" Felina said, breaking the silence, her tone more sympathetic. "Never mind."

"What?" Callie pressed.

"Just don't be disappointed," Felina said. "In case you don't like what we find."

* * *

The two didn't talk for the remainder of the flight, and as the hours passed, the scenery below changed from desert to forest as the mountains of the Panthera Range came into view. Large pine trees jutted into the sky, and in places, patches of white snow could be seen.

Felina banked the Sabre and pushed forward on the throttle, bringing them into a slow descent. The floor of the cockpit rumbled as the landing gear extended. Callie could see the small airstrip ahead. The forest had begun to encroach upon it along the edges, but it seemed like it still offered adequate landing space.

Felina brought the Sabre down, and it safely landed, the engines roaring as the thrust was reversed. Just like a commercial flight, Callie thought to herself.

"Well, we're at the monitoring station," Felina said, and began to taxi the jet around, bringing them to a stop just outside of a small concrete structure near the runway. It looked like some kind of old war bunker.

Felina flipped several switches off, and the jet's engine came to a stop. The canopy opened, and Callie noted there wouldn't be a ladder.

"How do we get out of this thing?" Callie asked as she unbuckled her restraints.

"Like this," Felina said as she unbuckled, stood up and then put one leg and then a second over the edge of the cockpit and slid over, dropping down a good six feet and landing in a crouch. She stood and stretched, taking off her helmet.

"Smells like the woods," Felina said, and set her helmet down on the ground. "You coming?"

Callie peered over the edge and sighed, awkwardly putting her legs over the side. She lost her grip and slid off, falling ungracefully and landing on her behind.

"Ouch!" she shouted in pain, slowly getting up.

"Anything broken?" Felina asked over her shoulder as she began walking to the building.

"Just my pride," Callie said, rubbing her rear-end momentarily.

_I guess this experience wouldn't be complete if both ends of my body weren't in pain._

Felina reached the large steel door to the bunker and slid a keycard through a reader. It chirped, and a small LED light glowed green.

Callie caught up to Felina just as she grabbed a handle with both hands and began to slide the large steel door open. The door groaned open along its guide tracks to reveal a mostly empty room with stacks of computer equipment inside. An empty palette mover was also within.

"It's a closet," Callie observed. "Doesn't look very impressive."

"Most of the sensors, dishes or whatever are out in the mountains. Lines run back to this place," Felina said as she grabbed the palette mover's handle and began to drag it outside. Its metal wheels ground loudly on the pavement.

"Do you need any help with that?" Callie asked, following along. Felina dragged the palette mover back to the parked Sabre and positioned it underneath.

"Nope," Felina said, and then lifted a panel on the side of the Sabre's fuselage, revealing a small set of controls. She pressed one of the buttons, and the bomb bay doors of the jet opened up, revealing the interior and its contents. Felina ducked down and then stood up, the upper half of her body inside the bomb bay.

Callie leaned down to watch as the lieutenant unsecured a large rectangular object that looked like a series of car batteries connected together, and lowered it down onto the awaiting palette mover. Callie noticed that aside from that cargo, there was another item stored in the bomb bay: a large, black duffel bag, with a bright orange ring of reflective tape wrapped around it.

"What's in the bag?" Callie asked as Felina emerged and began dragging the loaded palette mover.

"Survival gear," Felina said as she dragged. "Water, MREs, signal flares, transmitter, and my personal additions, a Colt M16A4 and lots of extra mags with plenty of five point five-six in it. Some detcord, and, maybe a SMAW."

"Smaw?" Callie asked.

"Shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon," Felina said. "A rocket launcher, in layman's terms."

"Is all of that standard issue equipment?" Callie asked as they reached the bunker's entrance.

"Not exactly," Felina said, pulling the palette mover inside. "But sometimes I've found that my Glock 17 isn't enough if you've had to bail out over a hostile zone."

"Wouldn't all that stuff just get wrecked with the plane if you had to parachute out?" Callie asked.

"It's tethered to a jettisoning panel. If the pilot or co-pilot ejects, it triggers all ejection systems. That bag would be waiting for me near wherever I'd land," Felina said as she slid the battery pack off the palette mover and into position next to an identical looking one.

Callie stood back to let Felina do her work, and looked at several of the computer screens. They were displaying several series of numbers that were constantly changing.

"Any idea what any of this means?" Callie asked.

"Not a clue," Felina said as she disconnected a thick plugged wire from the old battery pack and connected it to the new one. "There, job's done."

"Don't you need to put the old one on the plane?" Callie asked.

"Later, on our return trip," Felina said. "Now, it's time to refuel-"

A high pitched screech interrupted Felina, distantly outside the bunker's entrance, echoing from the nearby forest. Callie's heart stopped, her blood chilling, feeling goosebumps on the back of her neck. It was the same noise that had been coming from her communicator.

"What was that?" Felina asked, and reached down with her right hand and unclasped the thigh holster that held the aforementioned Glock 17 at her side with her gloved thumb.

Before Callie could say anything, the bunker's computers whirred loudly, and the displays started to flash red, the numbers that had been changing froze in place.

"We need to get out of here," Callie said, almost frantically.

"We're not leaving without a refuel," Felina said, frowning at the computers. "C'mon, maybe I'll need your help after all."

* * *

Callie strained to drag the fuel line as fast as she could. It was the size of a fire hose and just as heavy. Felina was kneeling on the airstrip, reaching down and swiping her keycard again. Apparently, the fuel tanks were underground.

"Drag that end and drop it near the Sabre," Felina said, and cursed. "This stupid card reader isn't working."

Callie dropped her end of the line near the Sabre, and upon hearing Felina's lament, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the plastic wrapper from the sandwich she had eaten earlier.

"Here, let me try," Callie said as she dashed back to Felina.

Felina quirked an eyebrow as Callie took the keycard from her and put it inside the plastic, and then kneeled down to swipe it through the card reader. It chirped and and a green LED lit up.

"Nice trick," Felina said, and then connected the other end of the fuel line to the tank.

The screech in the distance sounded again, only this time it sounded closer.

"Okay, you get back in the jet while I run this," Felina said as she dashed back to the Sabre, quickly connecting the fuel line to a port underneath the jet's wing. Callie didn't have to be told twice as she ran for the cockpit, but soon realized a dilemma. There was no ladder to climb up this time.

"Uh, lieutenant, how do we get back in this thing?" Callie asked, looking up. The screech repeated, and Callie turned to look toward the forest. Along a slope filled with trees and foliage, rustling could be seen not more than 300 yards away.

Callie gasped and pointed. Felina turned to look over her shoulder, seeing it too. She disconnected the fuel line and shoved it away.

"No time for a full tank," Felina said and hurried over to Callie, grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her upward. Callie blinked at the ease with which she was lifted, but didn't hesitate to reach up and grab the edge of the cockpit, pulling herself upward as Felina pushed her feet from underneath.

The screech echoed, and Callie tumbled into the rear seat. Before she could turn to ask the lieutenant how she was going to get in, Callie saw her pulling herself up into the front seat on her own, helmet already on.

"You're going to have to strap yourself in, Deputy Mayor," Felina said as she started flipping switches. The engine of the Sabre hummed to life and the canopy started to close. Callie did so, the buckles clicking in to place. Outside, she could see the rustling continuing, less than a football field's length away. The hum of the engine turned into a dull roar as Felina began to taxi away from the bunker's entrance, moving them down the airstrip. Once at the edge, the jet slowly turned 180 degrees, in takeoff position.

The foliage was no longer rustling, as the source of its movement began to come into view.

"What…what are those?" Callie asked, putting a hand to her mouth.

Emerging from the woods were people. Dozens of them. But they were naked and featureless, without a single hair on their bodies, their flesh a sickening white color, slicked in some kind of film that made them glisten in the late afternoon sun. Most disturbing, Callie noticed, was that where there should have been noses, eyes and ears, was nothing. Absolutely nothing, except for lipless mouths filled with jagged, triangular teeth.

They were moving forward in rough unison, walking in a jerking gate, arms outstretched, moving toward the Sabre that faced them. The one in the lead let out the familiar screech.

"Can we still take off?" Callie asked.

Felina didn't respond, her gaze focused on the approaching creatures.

"Lieutenant!" Callie shouted.

"Right," Felina said, snapping back to attention. She pushed forward on the throttle, and the jet began to race forward. Callie leaned back in her seat, this takeoff not as abrupt as the catapult launched one.

The Sabre quickly made it down the runway, and right when Callie thought they would collide with the creatures, the nose pulled up and they rose above them. A tearing sound reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard could be heard from underneath as they passed over.

"We must've been close enough for one of those things to scratch the fuselage," Felina said, pressing a series of buttons. Callie felt the floor rumbled slightly as the landing gear was retracted.

"That screech they made," Callie said, thinking out loud. "So it wasn't interference."

"What are you talking about?" Felina asked over her shoulder.

"The noises those things made," Callie continued. "They're the same noises I heard on my communicator."

"Well, thanks for not sharing that with me sooner," Felina said, turning her attention forward. Callie noticed they were banking to the right, heading back in the direction they came.

"What are you doing?" Callie asked.

"I'm taking us back to Megakat City," Felina said.

Callie held up her communicator and looked at it. The destination icon was still blinking, reading 500 miles away from their current position.

"But…" Callie started.

"Look, Ms. Briggs, I was under the impression that this would be a quick flyover to find a couple of fighter pilots sitting around on vacation, or at worst, out of gas and in need of a pick up," Felina said. "But those things, whatever they are, have made me think that there's something you aren't telling me."

Callie sighed, feeling guilty for not being more forward.

"The Felidae Ergs might, and I stress _might_, be where a secret Puma Dyne proving ground was located," Callie said.

"Proving ground?" Felina asked. "Like weapons testing?"

"That's the theory," Callie said. "Look, lieutenant, I'm sorry for not mentioning that earlier. Things were just moving so fast, and, well, you're…"

"I'm what?" Felina asked.

"…Not that easy to talk to, to be honest," Callie said, and folded her arms, looking out the canopy.

Felina didn't say anything for several minutes, and then the jet abruptly banked, coming about.

"We have just enough fuel to make a pass over the destination site and then make it to Megakat Springs before we fall out of the sky," Felina said.

Callie wasn't sure what it was about the lieutenant's words, but she thought that maybe just a hint of vulnerability had crept through. I wonder what nerve I hit, Callie thought, but decided not to press.

"Thank you," Callie said.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 9 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The flight from the Panthera Range to the Felidae Ergs took less than an hour. The change in scenery below from the forest to the desert was so abrupt that Callie was now wondering if something unnatural was to blame.

"It looks like a different planet down there," Felina observed.

The landscape was a dead brownish hue, comprised of a large, mostly flat sand sheet that stretched far into the horizon. There was no vegetation or water in sight. Most disappointingly, there were no buildings or vehicles to be seen either.

Callie held up her communicator and saw the destination icon blinking. They had arrived where it said to go.

"I don't see anything down there," Callie said as she leaned to look out the canopy. "You don't think there's anywhere we could land, do you?"

"Not a chance," Felina said. "That terrain's mostly flat, but it also looks pretty rough. Not to mention I wouldn't want to risk getting stuck out here."

"I suppose you're right," Callie said, disappointment in her voice.

"This place is an empty wasteland," Felina said as she started to bring the jet about. "Whoever set that tracker up for you must've made some kind of mistake."

"I guess that's possible," Callie said.

This was a huge waste of time and I'm no closer to finding T-Bone and Razor, Callie thought. The lieutenant had been right in her advice to prepare for disappointment, but those words didn't help how Callie felt. This was her only lead. A desperate shot in the dark based on the insights of a scientist whose mental faculties Callie didn't fully appreciate.

The thought of Councilman Anderson's pending memorial bothered Callie deeply, and not just because of his death. Callie knew that with the SWAT Kats gone, there was a good possibility it would be the first of many memorials she'd be attending.

Callie was pulled away from her thoughts by a warning signal coming from the Sabre's controls.

"C'mon," Felina growled, and started flipping a switch up and down.

"What's wrong?" Callie asked, becoming uneasy.

"It's the landing gear," Felina said. "One of the doors just opened."

"Is that a problem?" Callie asked, trying to keep from succumbing to panic.

"No," Felina said reassuringly. "Probably a loss in hydraulic pressure. It'll slow us down a little, but we can still make it back to-"

Felina stopped what she was saying. A shadow had fallen over the two of them from above. Callie froze in place, and closed her eyes momentarily, gritting her teeth.

Please, she thought, and then opened her eyes, slowly looking upwards.

Above both Felina and Callie, gripped to the canopy and facing down at them, was one of the white, featureless creatures from the monitoring station. It was less than a foot above Callie's head, and from that distance, she could see it in grotesque detail. Every serrated, triangular tooth was slightly worn, with small pieces of flesh in between some of them. Its skin, glistening when viewed at a distance, was textured in the loose lines of skin, as if whatever skeleton and muscles that it had underneath were just a half size too small. It was gripping to the canopy with its hands, each finger a white knuckled sausage. It had no nails. Where its eyes should have been was an empty area, just skin.

"L-l-l-lieutenant…" Callie whispered, her voice shaking, unable to take her eyes off the creature. It was moving its head up and down, pressed against the canopy, as if it were sniffing with it's noseless face.

"Must've grabbed onto the landing gear when we took off," Felina said, her attention also fixated. "Hang on, I'll try to shake it loose."

Callie gripped the sides of her seat, bracing herself. Thus far Felina had kept their flight relatively stable, with no unnecessary maneuvers. In an instant, Callie felt her stomach leap upwards as the world outside the canopy rotated 180 degrees.

"Gah!" Callie shouted, feeling her flight restraints dig in, holding her in place.

The creature above them started to struggle, and Callie could hear the squeaking noise of skin sliding across the canopy.

"Just a little more of a push," Felina said, and sharply jerked the control stick sideways.

The world was now spinning, and Callie was sent violently sideways, pressed leftwards. The horizon in the distance kept turning like the hand on a clock. Above, she could hear the squeaking on the canopy get louder and faster, and in an instant the creature disappeared from sight.

"Guess he couldn't hang on," Felina said with a smirk, and leveled out, returning the horizon to normal.

Callie felt ill, on the verge of vomiting. Felina seemed to notice this.

"There should be an airsick bag somewhere around there if you need it," Felina said.

"Thanks," Callie said, and started to look around the cramped cockpit. There was a small slot to her right with the items in question, and she withdrew one. Callie opened it and brought it to her face. Before her stomach had a chance to release its contents, Callie saw movement to her right.

The creature was staring at her again. Before Callie could scream it had reached back with an open, grasping hand and drove it through the canopy. The cockpit was instantly awash in a gale of wind and blaring alarms. The white hand was grasping frantically through the opening it had created, and found Callie's right thigh. Its grip was strong and painful, and Callie could feel each individual finger digging into her. She screamed, a combination of agony and fear.

In front of her, Lt. Feral was struggling in her seat. She had the Glock 17 in hand, and was trying to awkwardly point it toward the creature from within the tight confines of the cockpit.

The grasp on Callie's thigh was intensifying, and she could feel her skin breaking.

"Get off!" Callie shouted, and started to hit the creature's arm.

Three loud pops exploded in Callie's ears, and she winced. Even with all of the other noise, the gunshots at that range were still deafening. Black spatters of blood splashed on her helmet and jumpsuit, and the creature's grip released, the arm rapidly retracting from the hole in the canopy.

Callie grabbed at her thigh, feeling the bruises forming. Before she could say anything, the Sabre vibrated and started to careen.

"Great!" Felina shouted, turning her attention forward again. "It hit one of the stabilizers when I shot it off!"

The nose of the aircraft was moving downward, and the sand sheet of the Felidae Ergs was now filling her view. The jet rumbled now, and suddenly the world was spinning.

"We're breaking apart!" Felina shouted.

This is it, Callie thought. I'm going to die. And I never got the Mayor to sign that stupid liquor tax ordinance. Callie regretted that of all the things that came to mind as she watched her life end, was that she was thinking about work.

The thought didn't last long, as she abruptly found herself feeling many times heavier, her body compressed against her seat as what remained of the canopy above exploded outward and disappeared. In an instant it was replaced with the opposite, a feeling of weightlessness, and she was watching the Sabre careening out of control below her.

_Am I dead? Is this some kind of out-of-body experience?_

The weightlessness stopped and she could feel the straps of her harness pulling from above. The noise of wind calmed. Callie looked up to see an open parachute above her.

Callie laughed, tears running down the side of her face. A loud explosion interrupted the momentary joy, and she looked down to see the rising fireball of what had been the Sabre in the distance. The joy was now replaced by dread.

Callie didn't see another parachute.

"Oh no…" Callie said out-loud.

The ground was now rushing up at her, and not having any formal training, she landed hard. The injury on her leg protested, and she instantly fell to the ground in pain. The parachute collapsed around her, draping her in its coarse fabric.

Callie laid there, and closed her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 10 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The re-election had been a grueling affair, and Callie hadn't gotten a full night's rest in weeks. Manx's campaign had won, though just barely. If only one more district had gone the other way, Callie would be typing up a new resume. For now, though, she sat back in her seat at the Kat Co. Coffee Brew House, a place near City Hall where one could get an overpriced latte 24/7.

Right now Callie was sipping on a White Mocha latte, with extra whipped cream to celebrate. It was 3:00 AM, and only hours earlier she'd put a few finishing touches on the Mayor's acceptance speech. The rough draft with scribbled notes was still in her handbag.

The idea of being Deputy Mayor of Megakat City for a second term was both reassuring and ominous. Sure, she had always had political ambitions, but seeing something on paper and actually being it were different things. The onslaught of media interviews she had wrapped up less than 45 minutes ago were just the tip of the iceberg in her now much more public life.

But for now, things had quieted down, and she took the opportunity to just be still. She closed her eyes as she took another sip.

As a server was sweeping the floor, the door to the coffee house opened. A bell chimed, signaling the entry of new patrons, and Callie opened her eyes. At the same time the server looked up, freezing in place. Two men had entered, and both were wearing masks.

"Look, I don't know the combination to the safe," the server said, taking a step back.

One of the masked men looked at the other, expressing incredulity.

"What? Oh, the masks," the larger of the two said.

"I told you we'd scare people with these," the shorter of the two said, and then he reached into a pocket and took out a twenty dollar bill. "Just coffee, maybe a little bit of sugar in it."

"I'll take mine black," the larger said, and walked past, continuing on in, taking a seat at the booth across from Callie's.

"Uh, okay," the server said, and took the money, setting the broom aside and walking around to the back of the counter to prepare the drinks.

The smaller masked individual joined his friend, sitting opposite.

Well, I guess that's the 3:00 AM crowd, Callie thought to herself, not knowing what to make of the two.

"I feel kind of ridiculous in this," the smaller one said. "And these colors don't really go together."

"I think red and blue work great together" the larger one said. "They look really cool, and the masks? They're the icing on the cake."

"I think you've read too many comic books," the smaller said with a sigh.

"Just wait and see," the larger one said. "Once we make our debut everyone will really dig the outfits."

The server approached the two's booth with their ordered beverages, change in hand.

"Hey, thanks," the larger one said.

The server didn't say anything in return, and went back to his sweeping.

Callie was tempted to get up and leave, but against her better judgement, she sat up and spoke to them.

"Alright, you've piqued my interested," Callie said to them. "What are you two supposed to be? Circus performers?"

The larger of the two glanced at Callie, his expression momentarily frozen in place. Callie recognized the look. It was one she had seen on several occasions whenever men stopped to hold doors open for her. The smaller of the two nudged him, and he snapped back into composure.

"Uh, no, actually," he said, changing his tone to sound more mysterious. "We're masked crime fighters."

"Oh really?" Callie said, a small smile creeping onto her face. "And what might be this 'masked crime fighter's' name?"

"You can call me T-Bone," the larger one said. "And this is my buddy, Razor."

"Hi," Razor said shyly.

Callie chuckled at the names.

"Well, you two sound pretty intimidating," Callie said. "My name's Callie."

"Callie?" Razor asked. "As in Callie Briggs? The Deputy Mayor?"

"One and the same," Callie said as she stood up. The two of them also stood.

"Wow, really?" T-Bone asked and shook her hand. "You look better in-person."

Razor elbowed T-Bone in the side.

"Er, that is, I mean, you look really good on TV and even more so in person," T-Bone said.

His fingerless-gloved hand felt strong, but not overpowering. Callie laughed at his remarks.

"I hear that a lot," she said with good humor. "Well, T-Bone and Razor, it was nice to meet a pair of real crime-fighters."

"You know, since you're the Deputy Mayor, I bet you could help us out," Razor said, and then he dug into his jumpsuit's pocket and took something out, holding it out to her.

"Uh, I'm not sure that I-" Callie began, and then paused, looking at the device Razor was holding. It was a triangular gadget with a round button in the center.

"We're total professionals, Ms. Briggs," T-Bone said. "We've got military-grade training and our own super sonic jet."

"I designed it myself," Razor said proudly.

"And what is this?" Callie asked, taking the device from Razor, looking it over.

"It's a high frequency communicator," Razor explained. "It sends a multilateral encrypted signal that we can receive at anytime, from almost anywhere."

"So if there's ever a problem that comes up, you can get ahold of us and we'll show up to handle it," T-Bone said, punching his left fist into his right palm.

"My own personal SWAT Kats," Callie said, amused.

"Hey, I like that," Razor said.

"Yeah, me too," T-Bone said. "Mind if we use that?"

"Be my guest," Callie said, and put the communicator into her hand bag. She didn't normally accept items from strangers, especially while being a public, governmental figure. _Especially_ from individuals that wore masks and dressed strangely. But for reasons she couldn't explain, the two seemed genuine, if a little cartoonish.

"Well, it's been a really long day," Callie said, and started to leave.

"Drive safely, Ms. Briggs," T-Bone said. "And remember, you can always count on us."

Callie smiled and left the Brew House, getting into her sedan that was parked out front on the street, the meter thankfully inoperable at this hour. As she got into the driver's seat and prepared to turn her key in the ignition, she felt an intense vibration, soon followed by the roar of a jet engine.

Callie quirked an eyebrow, and leaned down to get a better look through her windshield. A black jet was lifting off from a nearby parking lot, taking off vertically into the air, illuminated by the night lit skyline, only to rocket forward and disappear from view. Callie's mouth hung open in surprise for a moment, and she reached into her bag to hold out the communicator Razor had given her.

_Who are these two?_

* * *

_Who are these two?_

Callie awoke, her eyes opening slowly. The world failed to focus, the details of her surroundings blurred in what looked like fabric and sand.

The parachute's on top of me, she thought to herself, quickly realizing that her earlier dream was just a distant memory, and this desert nightmare was reality.

She sat up, and with much effort pulled the parachute off herself like she would have an oversized blanket, and then squinted. Cloudless blue sky was above her, and the scorching heat of the sun could be felt in its full intensity.

Well, maybe not full intensity, Callie thought, noting it was closer to the horizon than she remembered. It's probably nearing 5:00 PM.

She took off the helmet and set it down, taking a moment to pull her disordered hair back and out of her face. Her glasses had fallen off in the helmet, and she picked them up, noting they were relatively undamaged and put them on.

Her situation came into focus, and she saw that the jumpsuit she had been wearing was mostly in tatters. She unzipped it, and began to slide out of it.

As the jumpsuit came off, she winced in pain, and noticed that her jeans underneath were torn through in the shape of a hand where that creature had grabbed her. It throbbed in pain as she tried to move, traces of blood on the denim.

"That really hurts…" Callie said, and noticed her forehead beginning to sweat. The sun was making its presence known.

Unsteadily she rolled to her stomach, and began to get up, putting both hands down and getting to a knee on her good leg, and then with a painful hop coming to a stand.

From her full height she had a better perspective of her situation, which made her heart sink. Every direction she looked was the same: a flat, empty expanse with minimal dunes going far into the horizon. Absolutely empty, and absolutely quiet. She could hear her heartbeat in her temples.

"Okay…okay…don't panic," Callie said. "Just calm down and think."

The Panthera Range was several hundred miles to the east, she knew. It was also the direction one would walk to get back to civilization. It was also the direction most likely to have water, too, Callie realized. Her throat was feeling dry and she coughed.

"First priority is water," Callie said, and her morale dropped lower as she surveyed her surroundings again. She hadn't seen any traces of liquid since they had entered the airspace above the Felidae Ergs.

"Think positive," Callie said to herself, and placed a flattened hand over her eyes, trying to survey the surroundings again. A short distance away, no more than 100 feet, she saw something sticking out just above a short, 10 foot dune. It was glinting in the light.

"Well, it's worth taking a look," Callie said, and started to walk toward it. On her first step she almost fell over, as both of her hands reflexively went down to her injured thigh.

"One, step, at a time," she said through gritted teeth, and began to limp across the sand. What would normally have taken her a few minutes at most took nearly fifteen, her leg fighting her with every step. The dune itself was no more than a few degrees of incline, but it felt like a mountain. As she neared the destination near the top, she collapsed, and started crawling forward.

"Please, please be worth this…" Callie begged, on the verge of tears.

The shiny object, she realized, was a bright orange ring of reflective tape, surrounding a large duffel bag half-buried in the sand.

"Thank you, lieutenant," Callie said, and then cringed at her words, knowing that in all likelihood, Lt. Felina Feral had died in the crash. She bit her lip, but pressed forward, sliding up alongside the bag. With much effort, she unrolled it out of the sand and pulled on a zipper. Several of the contents immediately spilled out, the first of which was a white, plastic box with a red cross on it.

Callie opened up the white box and found it filled with military grade First-Aid. She dug through the contents, setting aside bandages, tourniquets and gauze until she came across a sheet the size of two postcards, labeled Wound Seal Kit. It looked like a giant, square sticker, and she noticed it contained a short set of typed instructions.

APPLY ADHESIVE STRIP TO WOUND, PAIN RELIEVING GEL SIDE AGAINST WOUND.

"Seems simple enough," Callie said and then unbuttoned her jeans, carefully sliding her hurt leg out. The sand felt hot against her skin, but it was overshadowed by the pain and now visually unsettling exposed wound.

On her thigh was a dark, hand shaped bruise, and her skin was broken where the fingertips would have been. Callie peeled back the cover of the adhesive strip, and did as the instructions said, placing it on her thigh like a stamp to a piece of stationary. Almost instantly she felt a coolness as the strip adhered to her leg, completely sealing the injury.

She sighed with relief, and slid her leg back into her jeans, buttoning them back up. Among the contents that had spilled out of the duffel bag were several bottles of water, and she picked the nearest up, opened the cap and took a large swig. Despite being very warm, her throat rejoiced at the liquid's rehydrating presence.

Callie savored that for a moment before turning her attention back to the bag. Within it were several boxes labeled MEAL, READY TO EAT, a few more bottles of water, several black, rectangular metal boxes with bullets packed into them, an assault rifle and a large tube.

"Must be the M16 and that rocket launcher," Callie observed, recalling the lieutenant's verbal list. "Not much good either of those will do me out here."

A loud, modulated shrieking noise came from Callie's pocket, and she screamed in surprise, before realizing what it was. She dug the triangular communicator out.

"Shut up!" Callie screamed and threw it away from herself.

It landed softly in the sand, the shrieking noise coming from it lasting longer than it ever had before. She pressed both palms against her ears, and after several seconds it stopped.

Callie cried, tears running down the side of her face. She felt frustrated, and stupid, wishing she had done things differently. I should have just gone to Commander Feral, she thought.

As she wiped her face with the back of her forearm, she froze in place. The shriek sounded again, only this time it wasn't coming from her communicator. Callie slowly turned her head to the left, and gasped, covering her mouth. No more than a football field's length away, was the white creature that had stowed away on the Sabre and caused it to crash.

Callie knew it was the same one. The arm it had grabbed at her with was severed, replaced by a pitch-black stump. It was walking awkwardly in her direction, it's head bobbing back and forth as if sniffing the air with its noseless face. One of its legs dragged across the sand, leaving a winding trail as it moved forward.

Callie was on the verge of hyperventilating, and got up to try to run, but instantly fell to the ground, landing on her side. Her injured leg wasn't going to allow her to go anywhere quickly.

The creature screeched, and seemed inspired to move faster in Callie's direction, its unnaturally white, naked form standing out clearly in the sunshine of the desert. It was now no more than 50 yards away.

"I can't outrun that thing," Callie said, her desperation making her frantic, and she rolled and started crawling the short distance back to the duffel bag.

The creature snarled, now 40 yards away.

Callie reached the bag and started tearing out its contents, throwing aside plastic bags filled with rations.

The creature lurched forward, and fell on its chest, and began to crawl, using its one remaining arm to pulls itself forward. It's chin was scooping through the sand, its mouth snapping open and closed.

Thirty yards…

Callie tore the black rifle out of the bag, falling back as she did so.

Twenty-five yards…

"Mags…magazine…" Callie said, remembering the lieutenant's words as she got to one knee and scooped up one of the black, bullet-filled boxes. Her hands were shaking as she tried to stuff it into an opening on the underside of the gun.

Twenty yards…

On the third attempt to jam it into place it clicked, and Callie awkwardly aimed the barrel forward, pulling the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Fifteen yards.

"Why won't you fire!" Callie screamed, and looked at the weapon. There was a small, hardly noticeable handle on the top, behind what looked like the carrying handle on a lunchbox. Desperate, Callie pulled on it. The rifle made a familiar Ka-Click mechanical noise.

Ten yards.

Callie pointed the rifle, holding it at her side, and pulled the trigger.

Three loud pops rang in Callie's ears. The sand beside the creature kicked up, all the rounds widely missing.

It shrieked anew, and pulled itself forward faster, covering the distance, rearing up. For a moment it blocked out the sun, casting a shadow over Callie. She fell onto her back, and pulled the trigger one last time.

_Blam-blam-blam._

The creature fell down, landing beside her, knocking a small plume of sand in her direction.

Callie rolled aside, sat upright and scooted back several feet. For several minutes, she sat there, staring at the unmoving white mass of flesh, each breath she took a panicked gasp. She saw no signs of movement. No breathing. No noises.

It was dead.

As Callie's heartbeat began to slow, she sighed with relief, only to be started once more as a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Don't!" Callie shouted, and swung the rifle around. It was immediately caught in someone else's grip.

"Hey, careful there," Lt. Felina Feral said, and knelt down.

"Lieutenant!" Callie said in disbelief, letting go of the gun. "I thought you were…"

"Dead?" Felina said with a laugh, a red gash visible on her forehead. "Not me, though I can't say the same for our friend over there."

Callie looked again at the unmoving monster. She was just starting to realize how badly it reeked with a strange mixture of body odor and perspiration. It's like the gym times a thousand, Callie thought.

"By the way, I think you dropped this," Felina said, holding up the discarded communicator. It was still in working order, though for now it was being silent.

"Thanks," Callie said, and began to stand up, struggling slightly.

"You okay?" Felina asked, and helped her get to her feet.

"It's my leg," Callie explained. "That thing grabbed me when we were still in the jet."

"Let's see if there's anything else in the First-Aid kit to help out with that," Felina said, and put Callie's arm over her shoulders for support. The two shuffled over to get closer to the bag of items, but before they could make it, they both froze.

Their view of the dead creature had changed.

"Do you see what I see?" Felina asked.

"Uh-huh," Callie said, frowning.

On the monster's left foot was a tattooed barcode that neither of them could decipher, but what was next to it was unmistakable.

The Puma Dyne logo.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 11 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Several hours had passed and the once overpowering sun was now starting to set on the horizon, and the sporatic dunes were casting long waving shadows. Felina had changed Callie's hastily applied bandage with a more appropriate mixture of antibiotics, gauze and wrapped bandages. Her leg was no longer throbbing.

"You should be able to walk halfway decently in the morning," Felina said.

The lieutenant was organizing the supplies of the duffel bag, and had established a makeshift campsite. There was no fire, due to the lack of anything to burn, but a kerosene lamp was setup between them. Above in the darkening sky several stars were beginning to appear. Felina turned the knob of the lamp, and a warm light glimmered off the sand.

"Hungry?" Felina asked.

"I am, actually," Callied replied, feeling her stomach rumble. It had been at least 10 hours since breakfast.

"Well, hope you like MREs," Felina said, and rummaged through several plastic packs until reaching one in particular. "Spaghetti."

"Uh, sure," Callie said, and then was tossed the container.

"Just follow the directions on the box," Felina said as she took a cross-legged seat on the sand opposite Callie, the lamp between them. She withdrew her own MRE and tore it open, mixing one bag with another.

Callie looked at her own, following the directions to apply the contents of one bag to another and let it sit.

"That's really clever," Callie said, noticing the chemical reaction causing the food to warm.

"Yeah, it'd be even more clever if it actually tasted like what it's supposed to be," Felina said as she scarfed down what may have been a packet of Salisbury Steak. "But, it beats starving."

Callie opened the edge of her packet and looked inside. The spaghetti looked closer to vomit than food, and her nose wrinkled. She poked at it with a plastic fork, and closed her eyes as she took a bite.

"It's not that bad," Callie said in-between chews, forcing herself to swallow.

"What if I told you it was 2,000 calories?" Felina asked with a small smile.

Callie blinked and looked down at the MRE's label, and frowned, noticing the calorie count.

"Uh, maybe I won't eat all of it," Callie said, and set the packet aside.

The two were quiet for a few moments, and the stars above became more numerous and brilliant.

"It's been a really long time since I've seen the stars like this," Callie said, looking up. "No light pollution to obscure things here."

"Yeah, it's real pretty," Felina said without looking, apparently in the process of unloading the M16 and checking it over.

"In our rush to get things underway, I never really got a chance to say thanks," Callie said, turning her attention forward.

"Yeah, well, I'm not helping out because of your power of persuasion," Felina said as she put a magazine into the rifle and pulled back on what Callie learned was called the charging handle, causing it to make a loud clicking sound. "I've got my own reasons."

"Oh?" Callie asked.

"Like I said, they're my own reasons," Felina reiterated, laying the rifle on its side on her lap.

"Okay…" Callie said, not wanting to press the matter further. "Then let's talk about something else. How about work?"

"Oh, you know, I'm just another nine-to-fiver, sitting at a desk, trying to get ahead in the rat race," Felina said, reclining back into a dune that was becoming a makeshift chair.

"I somehow doubt that," Callie said. "Really, how did you get to be like you are?"

"Like I am?" Felina said, pointing to herself.

"You know, capable, confident, fearless, tough," Callie said.

"I think there's a less polite word you're searching for," Felina said with a laugh.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Callie replied.

"To be honest, I never really thought about it. It's just who I am," Felina said. "And, it has its downsides, too."

"I think I might know about some of those," Callie admitted.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were in the process of running an investigation on Captain Ritz's betrayal," Felina said. "I bet you learned a lot about me."

"Oh, nothing much," Callie fibbed. In truth, she knew that the lieutenant had been reprimanded in writing on several occasions.

"Heh, yeah, I'll bet," Felina said.

"That investigation never went anywhere. The city's failing economy and budget woes are all anyone cares about, and I suppose rightfully so," Callie said with a sigh. "It probably seems like a petty thing to worry about, especially after having just survived a plane crash."

"Just a little," Felina said.

"I'm not the only one either," Callie said. "Your uncle, I mean, the Commander, is equally concerned."

"There's a rumor going around that you were going to gut the Enforcer's funding," Felina said. "That's probably why he's concerned."

"Gutting is a harsh term," Callie said. "We're all making sacrifices."

"Is that why you're out here?" Felina asked. "Feeling the need to make a sacrifice?"

"Not exactly," Callie said, closing her eyes.

"Oh, I get it now," Felina said.

"Get what?" Callie asked, opening her eyes again.

"You're in love," Felina said.

"Me? In love?" Callie asked, pointing at herself.

"It's okay, I'm not judging or anything," Felina said. "You don't have to throw your pompoms at me."

"Pompoms?" Callie said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, never mind," Felina said, looking to change the subject.

"No,what did you mean by that?" Callie asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It's nothing," Felina said. "Just a nickname some guys at the force have for you."

"What, that I'm some kind of stupid cheerleader?" Callie asked.

"I have not heard the word 'stupid,' no…" Felina said.

Callie rolled her eyes and leaned back, reclining into the sand. The pain in her leg was hardly noticeable at the moment.

"I guess I deserve that," Callie said.

"Hey, it's not a big deal," Felina said reassuringly. "You should hear some of the names I get called."

"Maybe I get carried away in my support of the SWAT Kats _sometimes_, but it doesn't discount the fact that they're needed," Callie said. "I know they don't do things by the book, and every action they take defies the very laws my administration is elected to uphold, but I support them because-"

"Because it's the right thing to do?" Felina interjected.

"Yes," Callie said.

"I can respect that," Felina said, and then glanced out the corner of her eye in the direction of the white creature's nearby carcass. It was easy to see in the starlight and glow of the lamp.

Callie followed her gaze, and the weight of the world was once again on her shoulders.

"I just hope that whatever that right thing is, that it's not too late to do it," Callie said. "I'm sorry for saying you were difficult to talk to."

"Well, all it took was a near-death experience to loosen up the mood," Felina said with a chuckle.

A few moments passed before Callie broke the silence.

"Are you going to get in a lot of trouble for all of this?" Callie asked.

"Oh yeah," Felina said. "It was bad enough to deviate from a scheduled flight plan without reason. Crashing a Sabre and carrying an unauthorized passenger? I'll be lucky if I'm not court martialed," Felina said.

"I'm sorry," Callie said.

"Don't worry about it," Felina said. "Just bring me a pizza when I'm in the brig."

Callie laughed.

"I'll try to remember that," Callie said.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask who it was that set you up with that gadget of yours," Felina said.

"It was Professor Hackle," Callie said.

"Hackle?" Felina asked. "As in creator of the Metallikats Hackle?"

"The same," Callie said.

"I was with a detachment that went to speak with him once," Felina said. "He's really not all there."

Callie shrugged, and then another thought came to mind.

"When those creatures arrived at the monitoring station, all of the computer equipment inside lit up," Callie said.

"Yeah, so?" Felina asked.

"When we got back in the air, it took us a good 45 minutes to get here," Callie said. "Wouldn't that have been enough time for you to have received some kind of warning being transmitted by the monitoring station?"

Felina frowned.

"Yeah. Those monitoring stations are supposed to be wired into our threat detection system that my Sabre also shared," Felina said. "I didn't see anything."

"And you told me it was Puma Dyne who built those monitoring stations," Callie said. "I'd be willing to bet they aren't giving the Enforcers all of the data they collect."

"But why?" Felina asked.

Both of them looked at the unmoving corpse once more, the eery tattoo on its foot just barely visible in the dim light of the lamp.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 12 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Callie could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, and she slowly opened her eyes to see it rising on the horizon. She awoke from dreamless sleep, and yawned briefly, trying her best to get the accumulated sand out of her hair.

Felina was already awake, gathering supplies into the duffel. She had discarded her flight jacket and was wearing her khaki cargo pants and boots, with a white tank top, over which she was now snapping into place some kind of tactical harness.

"Going to war?" Callie asked as she sat upright and stretched her arms.

"I did some more thinking about what you said last night," Felina said, putting several of the rifle's magazines into pouches on the harness.

"And?" Callie said as she stood up, wincing slightly. Her leg was in much better condition, but she wasn't going to be running a marathon anytime soon.

"I think you're right," Felina said as she slung the M16 over her shoulder on a strap. "There's something here, and I want to find it."

Callie held up the triangular communicator. It was still showing which direction to go.

"Are you sure we should be doing that, and not trying to head in the direction of civilization?" Callie asked.

"It'd take us several days to even get close to the Panthera Range, and even if we did, those things are out there," Felina said as she took out her Glock 17 and chambered a round, and then put it in her holster. "Besides, search and rescue won't find us for days, if at all."

"What about that emergency transmitter you said was in you bag of stuff?" Callie asked.

"It's only got a range of a few hundred clicks," Felina said. "We're way outside of the area they'll be looking in."

Callie nodded, her own determination inspired by Felina's.

"Well, good news is I can walk," Callie said.

* * *

The two trudged across the sand, leaving a trail of footprints behind them that disappeared out of sight around a dune. It couldn't be later than 9:00 AM, but the heat was already starting to feel intense. Callie wiped the sweat off of her brow with her forearm and took another sip of water from a canteen she unclipped from the waist of her pants. The lieutenant had packed a little bit of everything in that large duffel bag.

In front of her Felina was carrying substantially more gear in a rucksack, including the four and a half foot tube known as the SMAW strapped to her back. She carried the M16 in an at-ready position, and seemed to be faring much better in the heat than Callie was.

"Where's that thing say to go now?" Felina asked over her shoulder.

Callie took a minute to look at the communicator, holding her free hand up to try to block the glare from the sun.

"It says to keep going in this direction," Callie said.

The two marched ahead, making their way up a moderately sized sand dune, and stopped as they reached the top.

"Well, that's different," Felina said, looking down.

In a small valley between two dunes was a meshed, web canopy, the same color and texture of sand. It would've been next to impossible to have spotted from the air.

"That's the direction this thing says to go in," Callie said, holding up the communicator.

"Let's take a look," Felina said as she brought the M16 up and began to cautiously approach the canopy, sliding down the side of the dune.

Callie followed along, a little less gracefully as the two reached its edge. The canopy was about 100 feet in length, each direction, suspended ten feet in the air by ridged poles that ran from the four corners, leaving the space within open and uninterrupted.

It was important to note that, because in the center was something very out of place: a black jet with all of the unmistakable markings of the SWAT Kats. It was the Turbokat.

"It's them!" Callie nearly screamed, and began to hurry forward, entering the shade of the canopy, with Felina following more cautiously behind.

"T-Bone! Razor!" Callied called out, reaching the Turbokat. Its canopy was slid back in the open position. She quickly noticed the bomb bay doors were also open underneath, and she peered down to take a closer look.

"Lieutenant, do you think you could give me a hand and-," Callie began, but stopped as she realized Felina was pointing the barrel of the M16 in her direction. Before Callie could say another word, several loud pops of gunfire rang out.

The motionless body of another pale white creature fell down from above, landing at Callie's feet, nearly colliding with her. It had been out of sight atop the Turbokat's wing.

"Get back!" Felina ordered, and fired again, this time at another monster that was peering from around the rear landing gear.

Callie scrambled away from the jet, getting behind Felina. The creature she shot was hit, though apparently not fatally, and shuffled across the sand, diving into it and disappearing from sight.

"Wait here," Felina said and ran forward, chasing after it, aiming the rifle down at the ground, and then sighed with frustration. "Great…"

"What is it?" Callie asked.

"I think I found our secret proving grounds. And, something else," Felina said, and gestured for Callie to come take a look.

Callie walked over and stood next to Felina. Leading into the side of a dune, previously obscured from view, was a tunnel, reminiscent of a mine shaft, six feet by six feet. Sporadic drippings of black blood, what Callie assumed was the retreating creature's, lead inside. But, that wasn't the only thing. Near the entrance of the tunnel, discarded on the ground, was something Callie had seen worn by the SWAT Kats on many an occasion.

"That's a Glovatrix," Callie said, and reached down to pick it up.

It was heavier than it looked, a mesh gauntlet with a rectangular box attached to the top, with three forward facing barrels over where the fingers came out.

"Heh," Felina said.

Callie frowned and looked at her.

"I just got that," Felina said. "Glove-of-tricks. That's cute."

"This is hardly the time for amusement," Callie said.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Felina said with a sigh, and turned her attention back to the ominous tunnel in front of them. "It was just a nice, momentary distraction from that."

Callie looked toward the tunnel as well. Though no audible noises were coming from it, she could imagine it speaking to her.

_Your friends are in here. Why don't you come and join them? _

"They're here," Callie said, convinced.

"I don't doubt that," Felina said. "What I doubt is whether or not they're still alive."

This was the first time Callie heard Felina mention that possibility out loud, and she wondered if the lieutenant had ever expected to find them alive at all.

* * *

"There's nothing wrong with this thing as far as I can tell," Felina said from above in the front seat of the Turbokat. "Aside from some sand in the cockpit."

"No signs of attack?" Callie asked, still on the ground, looking up, every so often casting a glance back at the tunnel's entrance. It had been almost an hour since the last creature they had seen retreated in there.

"Nothing," Felina said. "I'm going to try something."

After a moment the Turbokat's engines whirred to life with a dull rumble, the sand on the ground vibrating in response. What Callie assumed were the stabilizers and flaps moved on their hinges. Just as soon the rumble stopped and the engine noise gradually winded down. Felina climbed out of the cockpit and dropped down to the ground.

"Well?" Callie asked, following Felina, who was now walking around and underneath the jet, running a hand along the fuselage, inspecting it.

"Fuel's at half capacity, but other than that, no damage," Felina said, pausing at the bomb bay doors, leaning under and looking inside. "And, their carousel looks like it's full of ordinance."

"What does that mean?" Callie asked.

"It doesn't necessarily mean anything," Felina said, emerging from the bomb bay. "But, I would bet the SWAT Kats arrived here not expecting a fight, and were ambushed once they exited the Turbokat."

"Ambushed?" Callie asked, and took another look at the Glovatrix she held in her hands.

"It's just a guess," Felina said, and picked up the M16 from where she had leaned it against the front landing gear.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but, can you fly it?" Callie asked.

"This thing?" Felina said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the Turbokat. "Easily. The control system is almost identical to the ones we use in the Enforcers."

"Well, I suppose that gives us options, then," Callie said, and turned to look at the tunnel again. The sunlight, already obscured by the canopy, didn't illuminate the interior farther than ten feet, and beyond that it was pitch black.

After everything she had been through the past few days, it was tempting to cut losses and retreat back to Megakat City. There had been so many close calls already. But, Callie knew that wasn't really an option. Megakat City's safety was in jeopardy without the SWAT Kats. This was something she knew for a fact. It would only be a matter of time until either the Metallikats, or Dark Kat, or some other threat came up again.

_But, there's a more important reason. And, it's not love, despite what the lieutenant thinks. I need to know what happened to them, and even if there's just a slim chance they're still alive, I have to act on that. Commander Feral was right. They're my responsibility. _

Callie noticed that Felina was looking at her, a pensive expression on her face.

"You're wondering if it's right to ask me to go with you in there, aren't you?" Felina asked.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Callie admitted.

"Well, you don't have to ask," Felina said and reached behind into her rucksack and pulled out a small flashlight and tossed it at Callie.

Callie caught it.

"Thank you, lieutenant," Callie said.

* * *

Felina had attached a light to her M16 and was slowly moving forward. Callie, sticking closely behind her, was shining her own flashlight to their left and right. Behind them the entrance was a circle of light that was gradually getting smaller. The tunnel, both of them had realized, was artificial, and after about 40 feet the floor transitioned from sand to metal plating, with occasional steel support beams in place to prevent a cave-in. There were several light fixtures that ran along the ceiling, but none of them were on.

"An underground testing facility," Felina commented, and then paused, pointing her rifle and its light straight ahead. "Look there."

Not knowing how to use it or if it even still worked, Callie had left the found Glovatrix behind, and now shined her flashlight in the same direction. A large door, more like one would find in the vault of a bank, was in front of them. It was ajar on its hinges, allowing for about a foot of clearance if entering from the side.

A control panel was mounted to the wall next to it, but it was scorched with black marks as if it had experienced an overload.

"That would certainly keep unwanted visitors out," Callie said.

"Or something else in," Felina said, her eyes narrowing as she approached the door and shined the light. A well worn sign was visible in patches of red and white.

DANGER. DO NOT ENTER.

In the lower right corner of the sign was the Puma Dyne logo.

"I think we're on the right track," Callie said as she reached into her pocket and took out the modified communicator. Its display was easier to see in the darkness, and it was signaling for the direction ahead.

"That's one way to put it," Felina said, and began making her way through the narrow opening. Callie followed along.

On the other side, Callie was surprised to see, was what looked like an office lobby. She shined her flashlight around and could make out a reception desk, waiting benches and a row of elevator doors.

A free standing sign with white letters on black read WELC ME TO SITE A. The "O" had apparently fallen off.

"Looks a little like HQ," Felina said, shining the light around, and then approached the reception desk. "Let's see if we can get some light in here."

Felina flipped a series of switches, and a brief hum of electricity filled the room. The lights came on, several of them flickering, giving full view of the lobby. It was old, but not ancient, and most of the panels where computers, phones or other fixtures would have been were torn out, showing exposed wires.

But, Callie quickly realized, there was something else. Several stains on the ground, leading in a patchy trail towards the elevators and a now visible stairwell that was adjacent to them.

"Blood," Felina said, walking over to the nearest stain. "A lot of it."

Callie turned off her flash light and looked at the communicator. It was pointing in the direction of the stairs.

"Let me guess," Felina said. "Down those stairs?"

Callie nodded, and Felina sighed.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 13 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The stairs were poorly lit, each flight casting eerie shadows onto the next lower level as the two descended. They were a mixture of concrete and steel, and their steps made little noise. Callie would have preferred some noise at this point; the silence that had thus far welcomed their presence was beginning to become unnerving.

What made it worse was the lack of doors thus far. Each flight went down twenty steps, arrived at a platform, allowed one to turn 180 degrees and walk down another flight of twenty stairs. This had repeated several dozen times so far, and Callie had lost count how many of these platforms they had made it to.

"Lieutenant, do you ever get scared?" Callie asked as they reached another switchback.

Felina was in the lead, about three steps farther than Callie, keeping the rifle pointed downward.

"Occasionally," Felina replied, keeping her gaze focused ahead of them.

"Would right now be one of those occasions?" Callie asked, keeping a hand on the guide rail that ran with the stairs.

Felina didn't immediately reply as they continued downward.

"Two months ago, when Dark Kat kidnapped me and had me locked in an underground stockade, I was afraid," Felina said.

Callie nodded.

"But, I wasn't afraid for myself," Felina continued. "It was the helplessness that scared me. Being unable to act or to do, while my uncle's, I mean, the Commander's life, and the lives of others were about to be ended."

"I know that feeling," Callie said. "It's how I felt a few days ago when the Metallikats attacked the City Council meeting."

"You weren't completely helpless," Felina said as they rounded another switchback. "You tricked them into leaving the others alone. That was really brave."

"It was more desperate than brave," Callie said.

"Still, you probably saved a lot of your co-workers lives by doing that," Felina said.

"Your advice at the self-defense class may have come into play: 'No matter how large your enemy they have a weakness,'" Callie said. "Except Mac and Molly's weakness was a combination of greed and gullibility, and not a glass jaw."

"That's good improvisation," Felina said, and then stopped, reaching the ground floor.

The steps had ended and deposited them both at the entrance of a large underground chamber. Easily the size of a sports stadium, it was lined with rows upon rows of white cylinders, each slightly larger than a water heater. All of them had a series of tubes running in and out of them. It was dimly lit by skylights far above.

In the row closest to the two of them, one of the cylinders was open, and the interior was empty, with several tubes hanging ajar inside, as if they were once connected to something.

"I'll bet you a hundred dollars I know what was in that," Felina said as she walked up to it, pointing the barrel of the rifle inside it, illuminating the interior. A thin, translucent film could be seen on the inside.

Callie looked from left to the right, the row of cylinders continuing far in each direction. One out of about every 20 looked like it was open. She glanced at her communicator again, and noticed the red destination blip was close. Within less than 50 feet.

"We're really close," Callie said, and started walking in the direction it indicated, passing by cylinder after cylinder.

Felina followed, keeping her attention to their rear and sides. The cavernous room was dead silent.

Callie followed the tracker's directions, walking faster now, until she came to a stop in front of one of the cylinders.

"This is it," Callie said, the communicator reading a distance of zero. The cylinder in front of her was closed.

Felina approached it, and set her rifle down, feeling around the cylinder.

"There's a crease, but I can't find any kind of release," Felina said, and then stopping as she reached something. "I think I found a handle."

Felina pulled with both hands, and after straining for a moment, the cylinder hissed loudly with the noise of escaping gasses. Felina stepped back, grabbing up the rifle anew and pointing it in the direction of the opening cylinder.

Callie tensed. The fumes of the gasses were odorless, but the green color of them obscured the view of the inside. After a moment, the vapors dissipated. Inside, on the floor of the cylinder, was a familiar red and blue helmet.

Callie gasped, and reached down, picking it up. She turned it end over end, and found an earpiece on the inside, with a small red LED indicating it was on. On the back of the helmet, in decorative text, was a name: _T-Bone_.

"What does this mean?" Callie asked, almost frantically, and looked at the interior of the cylinder again, seeing nothing else within.

Felina was about to respond, but stopped, as she looked behind them, and brought the M16 up, tucking the stock into her shoulder. At the entrance of the chamber where the two had entered minutes earlier, were now several of the pale, featureless, humanoid monsters. They were shuffling along in unison, having made their way down the stairs, and were now headed down the row of cylinders in the two's general direction.

"We need to move!" Felina hissed in a whisper, and grabbed Callie's arm, causing her to drop the helmet on the ground. It hit the concrete floor with a dull thud.

The monster nearest to them froze in place at the noise, and made a sniffing motion with its noseless face.

"Oh no…" Callie said upon seeing that, already running with Felina.

The creature let out a screech, and started to move hastily after them. The others responded in kind.

"This way!" Felina shouted, and took a 90 degree turn. They were following a perpendicular row that was leading them to the center of the chamber, and ahead of them Callie could see what awaited them: a small sized office building. It occupied the center of the room, and all of the rows of cylinders seemed to emanate from it. What Callie also noticed was the lights were on.

"What if someone's in there?" Callie asked, the injury she had sustained the previous day slowing her down.

"We'll deal with that later," Felina said, and then twisted and fell to the ground. A white , outstretched arm had grabbed at her from the side. The M16 flew from her grasp and skidded a short distance away.

It was one of the creatures. It had managed to get ahead of them. It now stood over Felina and was reaching down with open, grasping hands.

"Lieutenant!" Callie shouted, skidding to a stop.

"Keep going!" Felina shouted as she rolled to her back and unholstered her sidearm, grasping the Glock 17 and pointing it upward with both hands as she pulled the trigger several times. The gunshots echoed in the chamber, the muzzle of the barrel flashing brightly, illuminating the monster in a strobe-like effect. It collapsed to the ground.

Callie rushed over to Felina and helped her get back to her feet.

"I said to keep going," Felina said, reaching down to snatch up to the dropped rifle. The other creatures were starting to close in behind them, leaving the illuminated office ahead of them as their only choice. They reached it quickly.

"Well, I'm not one of your subordinates, lieutenant," Callie said as the two reached the closed, double doors. Felina jiggled the handle to find them locked.

"Maybe not, but you're going to wind up dead if you second guess me," Felina said, and then aimed the rifle at the door. "Stand aside!"

This time Callie followed directions, and quickly moved out of the way. Felina fired several rounds into the door, filling the area around the knob with holes. She then brought a booted foot forward and kicked the door inward, the mechanism that was holding it closed falling off.

"Inside!" Felina shouted, and turned around, ejecting the rifle's empty magazine and putting a new one in place so quickly Callie blinked. She didn't hesitate long, however, as she made her way inside.

Another lobby, this one with a mounted sign and directory that said WELCOME TO SITE B, welcomed her. The fluorescent lights in the ceiling flickered, many of them non-functioning. An empty, large, metal reception desk was the only object in the room.

Felina was backing into the lobby herself, firing rounds outside at the still approaching creatures, several of them piling up outside, dead, with their mouths full of triangular teeth still in a grotesque smile. Callie realized there was no way the lieutenant was going to be able to handle all of them, and an idea came to mind.

"Lieutenant!" Callie shouted, and made her way behind the desk and started pushing. It moved ever so slightly, making a loud screech as metal clashed with tile. Felina looked over her shoulder and didn't need further explanation as she set the rifle on the ground and ran at Callie, leaping over the desk. The two now pushed in unison, the desk sliding forward until it pressed against the doors, holding them closed from the inside.

Several bumps came from the other side, but the heavy desk was keeping the doors closed for now.

"That won't keep them out forever," Felina said as she picked up the rifle and ejected another spent magazine, and then inserted a fresh one. "And I'm on my last mag."

Callie turned, and collapsed on the floor, out of breath. She leaned against the wall, looking up at the browned and stained tiles that lined the ceiling. They weren't too different from the ones in her office.

"Let's just catch our breath," Callie said, and then paused, hearing a noise from around the corner. It wasn't just a noise. It was laughter, and it was familiar. The hairs on the back of Callie's neck stood on end, and she gritted her teeth, slowly turning her head to face the direction it came from. Felina scowled and brought the rifle up, taking aim as Callie quickly got to her feet.

"What an unexsssspected visit," said Dr. Viper in his snake-like lisp.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 14 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Dr. Viper, Callie knew, had once been Elrod Purvis, a biochemist who was a lab assistant to the late Dr. N. Zyme, working on groundbreaking scientific research at Megakat Biochemical labs. She knew he had worked on the failed Viper Mutagen 368, a chemical compound that was intended to revive dying crops and overcome famine. Purvis had tried to steal the formula from Zyme, and in the process had fallen down the building's stairs and died, the formula spilling all over him.

What Callie and others soon discovered, was that Viper Mutagen 368's restorative properties came at a price: it would turn its subjects into terrible, mutated versions of themselves. Zyme's test plants turned, and, so did Purvis. At the morgue, his body reanimated, and he became the now reptilian Dr. Viper, an insane psychopath with demented dreams of turning Megakat City into a swamp. Most frightening of all, was that he retained his scientific genius, and would use it to create monsters to carry out his fiendish goals.

In retrospect, Callie thought she should have suspected Viper as a possible culprit in the SWAT Kats disappearance. No one had seen him in years, though. He was presumed dead after his last public appearance when he used Katalyst X-63 to flood the city. But, Viper had defied death once before.

"Don't move!" Felina said, looking down the sights of the M16. "I'm placing you under arrest."

"Very well, I'll come along peacefully," Viper said with a mischievous smile, and held out his clawed hands, palms open, wrists side-by-side.

"Hold this," Felina said, shoving the rifle into Callie's hands.

Callie clumsily held the rifle as Felina withdrew a set of cuffs from her belt and approached Dr. Viper.

"Lieuteant, be careful, he's-" Callie began, but stopped as Felina harshly grabbed one of Viper's outstretched hands and twisted it behind his back, shoving him hard into the nearest wall.

"Oooh, you don't messssss around, do you?" Viper said, a humorous tone in his voice.

"Shut up," Felina said and applied the cuffs, snapping them on his wrists behind his back.

"If you're not careful my lawyer will hear about this," Viper said with a laugh as Felina led him off the wall by his shoulders and shoved him down into the reception desk's empty chair. Viper collapsed into it.

Outside, Callie noticed, the noise from the creatures had stopped, but before she could wonder why, her attention was brought back to Viper as Felina began to question him.

"Where are the SWAT Kats?" Felina asked, putting her hands on her hips, looking down at the seated Viper.

"They're around," Viper replied, looking up.

"Where?" Callie asked, walking forward. Felina took the rifle back from her and slung it over her shoulder. It bumped against the SMAW that was still attached to her rucksack.

"They've been my guestsssss," Viper slithered. "You'd be surprised how eagerly they arrived at my invitation."

"Your invitation?" Callie asked, and then withdrew her communicator. Upon seeing it, Viper smiled.

"Ah, so that explains why you're here," Viper chuckled.

"You lured them to this location using their communicator signal?" Felina asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I did," Dr. Viper said. "Ever since our first encounter, Deputy Mayor, I've known those two used a secret communication device."

Callie frowned, old memories returning.

"When you paralyzed the mayor and me at Megakat Biochemical all those years ago, you found the communicator in my purse, didn't you?"

"Very astute," Dr. Viper said. "It's been a discovery I've kept to myself. An ace up my ssssssleeve if you will."

"So you reverse engineered the communicator while it was in your brief possession, and now, all these years later, you lure them here," Callie said, gesturing to their surroundings. "Why? And for that matter, what is this place and what are those horrible things out there?"

"Ah, thisssss place," Dr. Viper said with a tone that was bordering on reverent. "This is an old, dirty secret of Puma Dyne's. Think of it as a factory for producing genetically engineered super soldiers. They never quite got the formula right, but I made some adjustments. I call them my _Shriekmen_. Puma Dyne chose to cut their losses and pretend like this place never existed."

"That's why they funded those monitoring stations," Felina said. "To keep an eye on this place in case something ever got out."

"You're not as dumb as you look, lieutenant," Viper said.

"You're one to talk," Felina said with a sneer. "Those things of yours set off the warning system. We were both there when it happened."

"Oh yes, I'm sure my pets did," Dr. Viper said. "But the monitoring stations won't alert the Enforcers. They'll go straight to Puma Dyne."

"I figured as much," Callie said. "And let me guess, they're not going to risk telling anyone for fear of the public backlash at the discovery of this place."

"Precisely," Dr. Viper said.

"Then what's the point of having monitoring stations in the first place?" Felina asked.

"So that those in the know can attempt to deal with the problem quietly. That's why I had several of my new minions keeping an eye on that place" Viper said, and then gestured with his eyes down the hall. "As you can see, it didn't work."

Callie glanced in the direction Viper was suggesting and gasped. There were spent shell casings, blood, and the remnants of uniforms, among other assorted, military equipment. A single intact helmet was left, on which she could see the Puma Dyne logo.

"You killed them?" Callie asked.

"More or less," Dr. Viper said with a shrug. "A small, private strike force greeted me just yesterday. My Shriekmen made short work of them."

The sight of the carnage made Callie feel ill, and she hesitantly went back to the topic that had brought them there.

"What happened to T-Bone and Razor?"

"Ah, those two," Dr. Viper said. "They arrived here, thinking they were rescuing you, only to be ambushed by my featureless minions. They put up a fight, but in the end, there were just too many."

Callie felt herself shaking, and she reached forward and grabbed Viper by the collar of his lab coat.

"Where are they?" Callie demanded.

"See for yourself," Viper said, looking at a nearby closed door.

Callie let him go, and started to head for the door, but Felina stopped her.

"No, let me take a look," Felina said, and then took off her rucksack and the SMAW, setting the items down on the floor. She brought the rifle up and slowly approached the door. Callie tensed, and watched as the lieutenant turned the doorknob. It creaked open slowly.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 15 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

While she had visited City Hall on numerous occasions in the past, today it was different. Today, Callie Briggs was the Deputy Mayor, and this was now her workplace. The ride up the elevator felt exciting, each floor number lighting up increasing the anticipation. It dinged, and the doors opened to show the hallway before her. Straight ahead was the Mayor's Office, and to the left of that was her office.

She walked down the hall, passing several potted plants that did little to offset the somewhat dusty atmosphere. Presently she had no assistants, due to the city's budget problems, but Callie felt hopeful that would change someday.

The door to her office was left open, inviting her to a new career filled with potential, but as she entered, she found that it was not unoccupied. A tall man wearing an overcoat was standing there, looking out the window.

"Do I know you?" Callie asked as she entered, setting her handbag down on the metal, stamp-pressed desk. Callie made a mental note to try to get something more stylish at the earliest opportunity.

"No, but we'll be seeing a lot of each other," the man said and then turned around, extending a hand. "I'm Commander Ulysses Feral."

"Commander?" Callie asked, and extended her own hand to shake his.

"Yes, Commander Tremblay just sent in his paperwork for early retirement a few days ago," Commander Feral said. "I'm his replacement, to be sworn in officially by Mayor Manx later today."

"Well, congratulations," Callie said.

"I appreciate the kind words, Deputy Mayor," Commander Feral began, and turned his attention back to the window. "But there's more to my visit than simple pleasantries."

"Oh?" Callie asked.

"Over the past few weeks we have received a number of threats directed against the Enforcers and the city's government," Feral said. "We take these situations seriously, and upon further investigation into these threats, we found evidence of bomb-making materials."

"What kind of evidence?" Callie asked, the tone of the conversation having completely removed her from the thrill of her first day.

"These threats were delivered via mail, and after working closely with the post office we determined the source to be a closed warehouse in the industrial district," Feral explained. "After getting a search warrant, we raided the building."

"What did you find?" Callie asked.

"We found lots of machinery, explosives residue, and these," Feral said, as he turned to face her, and held out a folded paper. Callie took it and unfolded it, setting it on her desk.

"These look like blueprints," Callie observed.

"They are, specifically to a GBU-43," Feral explained. "It's a large, conventional bomb, considered by many to be the most powerful non-nuclear bomb manufactured today."

"Who would be doing this?" Callie asked, and a thought came to mind. "Is it him?"

"Until recently we thought he was just a myth," Commander Feral said solemnly. "But after what we found, I can't help but suspect that Dark Kat is real, and that he'll try to make good on his threats."

"But why the threats?" Callie asked. "Doesn't that remove the element of surprise?"

"I know the type," Commander Feral said. "He wants an audience, and he no doubt gets some kind of sick pleasure from causing anxiety in others."

"Should we put out some kind of warning to the public?" Callie asked, and then reconsidered as she spoke. "No, that would cause a panic."

"I agree," Commander Feral said. "The bomb is designed to be deployed from a large aircraft, something the size of a C-130. I'll be doubling air patrol shifts around the city."

"Commander," Callie asked, looking at the blueprints. "What kind of damage could this do?"

"I won't let it come to that," Commander Feral said. "I'll be dealing with this personally, and I promise you that I'll put the cuffs on this terrorist myself. You have my word."

Callie brightened at the statement, the Commander's confidence transferring over to her.

"Well, Commander," Callie said. "In light of this potential crisis, I'm glad there's someone I can rely on to protect this city."

* * *

The Commander had disappointed Callie in the past, despite whatever his good intentions may have been. And now, years later, she wondered if there were going to be two fewer heroes she could count on.

Felina turned the knob and shoved the door open, taking aim at the interior. Within, a lone figure was standing, arms up and legs spread out. Callie instantly recognized the silhouette, and the individual just as soon recognized her.

"Callie!" the voice of T-Bone shouted with a mixture of surprise and relief.

"T-Bone!" Callie returned, as she raced across thre spartan office room, shoving past Felina. The SWAT Kat's ankles were restrained in chains that were anchored through the floor and into the foundation of the building. His arms were chained at the wrists, the ends attached into the ceiling. He shuffled forward to meet her as far as he could, as she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

"I thought you were dead," Callie said, holding back tears.

"Not quite," T-Bone said as Callie forced herself to let him go, taking a step back. His uniform was dirty and torn in places, but his mask was still in place.

"Where's Razor?" Callie asked, noting that T-Bone was alone.

"He's been having him keep this place from blowing up" T-Bone said with a sneer, his eyes narrowing as Dr. Viper was shoved through the door and into the room by Felina.

"Blowing up?" Callie asked, growing concerned, and then turned to Viper. "I'm getting really impatient."

"Me too," Felina said as she nudged Viper's back with the muzzle of her rifle.

"It's the reason I lured these two here," Dr. Viper explained at the nudge. "This place has a self-destruct mechanism. I didn't want my plans interrupted prematurely before I was ready."

"He needed Razor's technical expertise to keep this place from destroying itself," T-Bone said. "Obviously, he'd never do that willingly, that's why I'm playing the role of hostage."

"Well, that's about to change," Callie said. "I'm giving you until the count of three to release him, or else I turn a blind eye to whatever the lieutenant has in mind for you."

Dr. Viper chuckled.

"Oh, Deputy Mayor, it amuses me greatly that you think you're in a position to make demandssssss," Viper said.

"She's not the one on the wrong side of my M16," Felina said.

Callie crossed her arms, her expression turning hard.

"One…" Callie said.

"You know, have either of you stopped to consider how it is that you're able to have this uninterrupted conversation with me?" Dr. Viper asked.

"Two…" Callie said, noticing the lieutenant casting her a hesitant glance.

"It's really unfortunate that you're fixated on me, when you should have paid more attention to your surroundings," Viper continued.

"Three…"Callie said.

As soon as the number left Callie's lips, Viper's tail wrapped around Felina's waist and he spun around. Caught off guard, Felina flew off her feet and landed hard on her stomach.

"Lieutenant!" T-Bone shouted and struggled against his chains.

Callie took several steps back as Viper brought his restrained arms from behind his back, pulled them straight up, and then put them in front of him. His joints made a sickening popping noises as he did this; his reptilian mutation had apparently given him incredibly flexibility.

"You think a mere set of cuffs can keep me restrained?" Viper said as he brought his cuffed wrists up to his mouth and bit cleanly through the metal chain. It snapped into pieces, freeing his hands.

Across the room, Felina staggered to her feet, and brought the rifle up, but was too late as Dr. Viper exited the room and slammed the door shut behind himself. A metal grate dropped into place, covering the room's only door, and Callie realized they were trapped.

"Now I have three hostages," Viper said, his voice muffled from behind the door.

* * *

The dull thud of the lieutenant's fist against the closed and now reinforced door sounded again.

"That was stupid," Felina said under her breath, admonishing herself out loud as she leaned the rifle against the nearest wall.

"Don't beat yourself up, lieutenant," T-Bone said. "That lizard's managed to get the best of all of us."

Yes, he certainly has, Callie thought to herself as she walked over to the chained SWAT Kat.

_Maybe, at the very least, I can help get him free._

"It's no use," T-Bone said as Callie tugged on the chains that were anchored into the floor. "Nothing short of a blowtorch is getting me out of this."

"I could try putting a few rounds through them," Felina suggested.

"Yeah, and take one of my limbs off in the process," T-Bone replied.

Felina shrugged and started to move about the room, tapping the walls in various places, looking around for any kind of weakness or means of escape.

"Too bad I left all my stuff out there. Could've just blasted a hole in the wall…" Felina said. "Seeing as they're all lined with steel reinforcements. Shooting the last rounds I've got into them won't do anything."

"Not to mention blow out our ear drums or kill us with ricochets in here," T-Bone added. "I don't think you're going to shoot your way out of this."

Callie sighed and sat down on the floor. The pain in her leg was starting to return.

"Well, some rescue this turned out to be," Callie said, putting her chin in her hands.

"Hey, don't sweat it," T-Bone said. "We all have our off-days."

"City Councilman James Anderson was murdered by the Metallikats," Callie said. "I was there when it happened."

"I'm sorry," T-Bone said, his expression instantly changing as he lowered his head. "Razor and I should've been there to stop those two."

"It's not your fault," Callie said. "It's my fault for letting, no,_ shoving_ the burden of the city's safety into your hands."

"That's nonsense," T-Bone said. "You didn't shove anything on us."

"You don't understand," Callie continued. "By supporting you, I've been driving a wedge between this administration and the Enforcers, a wedge that's also transcended public opinion, so much so, that it's left us helpless in your absence."

All of the emotion that Callie had tried to keep contained from the past few days was now starting to well over. The stress of work, the criticisms from Feral, the feeling of inadequacy next to the lieutenant, the helplessness she had felt from the Metallikats, the guilt of Anderson's death, nearly dying in a plane crash, being attacked by terrifying monsters and now the stupidity she felt after falling for Dr. Viper's trap was getting too much to handle.

T-Bone didn't respond, his mind apparently absorbing Callie's words.

"I mean, I was ready to submit a budget that reduced our defense funds because I thought Megakat City was adequately protected by a pair of vigilantes whose real names I don't even know," Callie said, her voice getting choked up. "Just think about that for a moment."

T-Bone sighed.

"Yeah, when you put it that way, it does sound a little ridiculous," he said. "But, you have to keep in mind, we're surrounded by ridiculous circumstances, which means sometimes you have to make choices that aren't ideal."

"You know, as narcissistic as it sounds, lately I've been looking in the mirror and thinking to myself, 'that's the future mayor of Megakat City,'" Callie said. "But when you two disappeared, I realized that the best I've done is scoop out buckets of water on a sinking ship that I've been working to become the captain of. No better than your average conniving politician scraping and clawing to get to the top."

"Wow," T-Bone said. "You've had a pretty rough couple of days, haven't you?"

Callie smiled, and forced a laugh.

"You could say that."

He smiled, and his voice changed. It wasn't the overconfident T-Bone voice, but something more natural, one that Callie imagined was what, whoever was under the mask, really sounded like. It was also a very familiar voice, one she had heard before somewhere.

"Look, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know anything about politics, budgets, public opinions or any of that stuff," he began. "But, I do know a good person when I see one, and I know I'd follow you into any situation, rain or shine. You're hard on yourself because you demand better, and that's something every leader needs."

"Thanks," Callie said, and closed her eyes.

"I don't know about any situation," Lt. Feral said, piping up. "For instance, I don't know if I'd still be here if you told me in advance I'd be stuck waiting to die in an underground box like we are now. But, I think I share his sentiment."

Callie had nearly forgotten the lieutenant was still in the room, and she laughed.

"I appreciate that, lieutenant," Callie said as she stood up. "Maybe, to change the subject, you can fill us in on what happened?"

T-Bone gritted his teeth, obviously feeling embarrassed about being captured. The softness in his voice evaporated.

"A week ago, Razor and I were doing weapons tests out here. We knew it had been used by places like the Defense Center and Puma Dyne in the past, so we knew it was a safe place blow stuff up," T-Bone said. "As we arrived, we picked up a distress signal. Yours, specifically."

Callie nodded, listening as Felina continued to move about the room.

"We tried to get a response from you, and when we got none, we homed in on the signal," T-Bone continued. "It led us to that tunnel. After we entered and had a look around, we were ambushed by those creatures of his."

"His Shriekmen," Felina said as she tapped on a wall.

"Yeah, real nasty things," T-Bone said. "No eyes, ears, or noses. Just all hands and teeth. I'm not a fan of that noise they make, either. One of them alone isn't that big of a deal, but hundreds? We didn't have much of a chance underground. We tried to retreat to the Turbokat, but we were cut off."

"I saw one of your Glovatrixes out there," Callie said. "Wish I would've brought it with me."

"That'd of helped," T-Bone said. "Could've cut through these chains and opened that door no problem with that thing. Razor's a real genius with machinery like that…"

"You said Dr. Viper was having Razor keep this place from blowing up," Callie said. "What'd you mean by that?"

"Well, before we were ambushed, Razor said this place looked like some kind of bio-weapon factory. All of those person-sized cylinders in the main chamber the size of a football stadium? Apparently each of those Shriekmen was grown in those. Razor said that with the proper chemicals, bio-materials and whatnot, you could use this place to grow yourself an army," T-Bone said. "But, if Viper's word is to be trusted, Puma Dyne never got it to work right and scrapped the project, but left this abandoned place mostly intact."

"It's not uncommon for research and development to be stored for future use," Callie said. "Though in this circumstance it seems rather nefarious."

"You're telling me," T-Bone said. "But, to give them some credit, they set up a system of Semtex charges all around the supports that could be remotely detonated to bury this place."

"And, Dr. Viper is using Razor to disrupt that?" Callie asked.

"Pretty much, though knowing him, he's doing the bare-minimum," T-Bone said. "And, even negotiating. Originally, Viper had me stuffed into one of those cylinders, threatening to do who knows what to me."

"Until Razor agreed to keep the charges from detonating," Callie finished.

"Yeah, that's how I got the presidential suite," T-Bone said sarcastically, referring to his surroundings. "I heard gunshots the other day. Thought it might be a rescue of some sort, but nothing happened."

"Viper said he killed a team sent by Puma Dyne," Callie said, recalling the carnage just down the hall.

"Then I'd imagine they've sent their signal to blow this place up by now," T-Bone said. "Since I'm still alive, I'm guessing that whatever Viper had Razor do worked."

"Well, glad you haven't been turned into some kind of science experiment," Felina said. "I expected the worst when we saw a helmet with an active radio in one of those cylinders."

"Huh, I must've bumped our channel open when they drug me out of there," T-Bone said. "Is that how you found this place?"

"Those creatures' shrieks kept coming through to my communicator," Callie said with a shiver. "At first I thought it was broken, but after I spoke with Professor Hackle he filled me in on the details and how to track it."

Callie held up the communicator to show the professor's modifications.

"That Hackle's a real mad scientist," T-Bone said. "But still, I'm flattered both of you came."

"I just wanted to see what two SWAT Kats in trouble looked like," Felina said in a joking tone over her shoulder. One particular segment of the wall had caught her attention.

"Well," T-Bone said as he held his hands open. "Hope you brought a camera."

"Have you found anything useful over there?" Callie asked, turning her attention to the lieutenant.

"I might've," Felina said as she reached forward with both hands and pulled on a loose panel. "If I can just-."

The panel abruptly broke free and clanged to the floor. On the other side was an ominous looking black circle. A portal, no more than 18 inches across, was open like the mouth of a beast waiting for prey to walk past. It reminded Callie of the tunnel entrance on the surface, with nothing but pitch blackness within.

_Come on in. There's certainly no monsters waiting for you on the other side…_

"Must be some leftover part of the ventilation system," Felina guessed. "It's way too small for me to get through."

Callie had already realized that and walked over to the wall where the portal was. The air was circulating from their makeshift cell into it, causing just the slightest moan. Judging by the sound, this access port, or whatever it was, went on for quite a distance. A shiver ran down Callie's back.

"Well, I guess it's obvious that I'm the only one who's got a chance of fitting through there," Callie said, her voice uncertain.

"If only I hadn't left my stuff out there, we could've used that spool of detcord I brought along," Felina said, sounding irritated at herself.

"Detcord?" T-Bone asked with a laugh. "What kind of camping trip did you pack for?"

"Let's just say after one too many times being stranded behind enemy lines, I pack a lot of things," Felina said.

Callie sighed. It was going to have to be her to make the trip into a cramped tunnel that could lead to anywhere. Felina seemed to understand what Callie was thinking as she unholstered her sidearm and handed it to Callie.

Callie held the black firearm with both of her hands. Despite it being what looked like half-plastic, it felt heavy and large in her hands. She considered for a moment, but handed it back to the lieutenant.

"I'll just wind up shooting myself in the foot," Callie said. "Besides, if I can just get around to the other side and grab those items of yours, I won't need it."

"That's a pretty big 'if,'" Felina said as she re-holstered the gun.

"I hate to say it, but if we're going to do anything, we'll probably have to do it fast," T-Bone said. "If Razor's been causing delays, he's less likely to continue doing so with extra hostages now, especially you, Ms. Briggs. No offense, lieutenant."

"None taken," Felina said. "And, he's right. Viper pretty much said so."

"Just be careful," T-Bone said.

Callie leaned forward, and gazed face-to-face with the darkness that lay ahead of her, and gulped, gathering all of her courage.

_This is my responsibility._


	16. Chapter 16

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 16 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The tightness of the duct made Callie feel like the budget proposal that was stuffed into her office's inbox. Her shoulders were wedged on either side, both arms outstretched in front of her. Movement was difficult, as she could only scoot forward a few inches at a time. Fortunately, the lieutenant had given her the flashlight that was attached to that rifle she seemed so fond of, which she used to illuminate the course ahead. There wasn't much to see, however; only a black void far from the reach of the light lay ahead with no exit in sight.

She breathed heavily, the odor of stale, musty air that likely hadn't been disturbed in years filling her nostrils.

"Don't think about claustrophobia," Callie said out loud to herself.

She wasn't sure how long she had been making this hazardous journey, but it felt like hours. One thing she knew for certain was that if she somehow managed to escape this place alive, she'd put the full legal authority of the city against Puma Dyne.

"I can't believe a place like this exists," Callie said, once again shimmying another few inches. "It's like a bad sci-fi movie…"

As Callie moved forward, she noticed the pressure in her shoulders lessening, and breathed a sigh of relief. The duct was getting wider, which was starting to allow for easier travel. After moving forward a few more feet, she was able to crawl on her hands and knees.

A troubling thought occurred to her as the speed of her progress increased.

_What if the duct had gotten narrower instead? What if I'd gotten stuck here, deep underground with no one to help? How long until the flashlight had gone out? How long until I'd taken my last breaths, essentially buried alive?_

"Well, it didn't get narrower," Callie said, more determined now, and tried to force herself to think about something else. "I wonder what the lieutenant and T-Bone could be talking about right now…"

It was then that she saw it. Light. Just barely visible. Callie turned off the flashlight so she could see it better. Ahead, no more than 50 feet, there was light shining down on the duct's floor, in the shape of a grate. Callie crawled faster, and in minutes she arrived.

Above her was a rectangular drain grate. As Callie reached up, she prayed it wasn't welded into place. She pushed up with both hands.

It resisted at first, likely from the buildup of a decade's worth of rust, but it popped open, and Callie shoved it aside.

Without hesitation Callie pulled herself upward and rolled onto her back on the floor of this new area. Only it wasn't new. High above the dull glare of the stadium style lights shone down. To her left were rows of cylinders. To her right was the same.

She had emerged into the stadium sized room, which was now more active than before. Several of the Shriekmen could be seen moving about down the row, going in and out of the Cylinders. A subdued mechanical noise, along with the gushing of fluids through tubes, could be heard.

Callie rolled to her stomach and scooted across the floor, and sat with her back against the nearest cylinder, resisting the urge to scream as one of the monsters walked in its awkward gait towards her. From her position, there was nowhere to run, the rows of cylinders not interrupted for at least one hundred feet in either direction.

_Maybe I can try to climb up and move along the tops of them._

Callie sprang to her feet, and jumped up, trying to find a hand or foothold. The cylinders were taller than a refrigerator, and packed tightly side-by-side, making squeezing through an impossibility. A few exposed hoses were all there were to grab, and Callie did so. They supported her weight, and after much effort, made more complicated by her still wounded leg, Callie pulled herself up and rolled over prone.

The monster walked past.

Callie realized she had been holding her breath, and she quietly exhaled, trying hard not to panic as the gravity of her situation came into focus.

_There must be a thousand of these things in here, coming and going, just ready to grab me again with those disgusting hands._

From her perspective, Callie could see the small office complex in the center of the chamber. The lieutenant and T-Bone were both still there, captive in the makeshift cell that Dr. Viper had prepared.

Razor, she realized, was also here somewhere. Forced by the mutated mad scientist to do his bidding. Callie knew the SWAT Kat would be looking for any opportunity to either escape or foil Viper's plans, whatever they were.

As the options ran through her mind, Callie saw movement in the distance, and was thankful that throughout this ordeal her glasses had remained intact. As she laid flush to the top of the cylinder on her stomach, minimizing her profile, she watched the green-skinned Dr. Viper exit the office building.

Trailing behind, two of his aptly named Shriekman carried someone in tow with them. The masked prisoner's posture indicated he'd long since given up struggling, but he kept glancing about, as if exploring the possibilities in his head.

It was Razor.

Callie tensed, feeling a mixture of relief and dread, thankful to see him alive, but also fearful of what could be about to happen to him.

Dr. Viper paused once they were outside of the offices, stopping at a pile of assorted machinery. The Shriekmen shoved Razor forward, releasing him from their grasp. The SWAT Kat massaged one of his arms, and Callie could see him speaking, but was too far away to hear the words.

She judged the distance, and realized that, with some effort, she could army crawl atop the cylinders and bypass the assorted Shriekmen that were shuffling between the rows below her.

_You can do it. This is nothing compared to that duct._

* * *

It took her nearly twenty minutes to do so, and in-between her movements Callie casted a glance in Dr. Viper and Razor's direction. She could tell the two had been arguing, and it had something to do with the nearby machinery. Viper was growing impatient, and speaking just as much with his hands.

As Callie neared the center of the chamber, her safety dependent on her thus far unseen movement, she could start to hear their conversation. She was now just one ring of cylinders away from the central clearing where the office complex was. It's utilitarian appearance seemed more appropriate for a construction foreman's on-site location than here.

Callie ducked down, peering over her elevated edge, the two plainly in view, no more than one hundred feet away.

"…for the last time I'm not doing it," Razor said, crossing his arms. "I don't care if you kill me, I'm not going to finish it. I know my partner feels the same way."

"Oh, I have no doubt in your sincerity, SSSSSWAT Kat," Dr. Viper said, his reptilian lisp drawing out his words. "But, fortune has smiled on me once again."

"What are you talking about?" Razor asked.

"Apparently, someone missed you two so much, that she showed up on my doorstep, practically gift wrapped," Viper said. "Your precious Deputy Mayor, along with Feral's niece."

Razor's posture visibly changed, his defiance obviously wavered by the news.

"Now, I'll give you a moment to reconsider your stance on finishing my project," Viper said with a chuckle.

"I don't believe you," Razor said. "You'll say anything to get me to finish this dispersal system."

_Dispersal system? _

Callie wondered what that could be, and she craned forward slightly, trying to hear better.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll give you your proof soon enough," Viper said, his fanged teeth creating a gleeful smile that was more animal than person. "I just wanted to give your conscience enough time to absorb my words."

With that, Dr. Viper turned and began to head back toward the office building, leaving Razor alone with two of the pale monsters at his side.

Callie quickly realized that Dr. Viper was likely headed back to the cell where the others were being held. Where she was supposed to be.

_I don't have much time. Once Viper finds out I'm not there, then I won't have the element of surprise. It's the only thing I've got…_

Callie once again crawled forward, circumnavigating atop the cylinder row until she reached a gap that separated her from the closest ones to where Razor was being kept. It was at least a six foot distance.

_Okay, you can do this…_

Callie got up to a kneeling position, and then to two feet, keeping crouched to try and keep herself as invisible as possible. Nearby, several of the monsters were walking between the rows. She bit her lip, and started moving both arms, her elbows kept ninety degrees, trying to help generate some momentum as she prepared to spring forward. With one last glance in Razor's direction, she could see the SWAT Kat's masked eyes meet her own.

He looked confused, but did nothing to betray her existence, the two Shriekman beside him still oblivious.

Callie leapt.

Though it lasted only a fraction of a second, her jump seemed to take forever, the grated floor below seeming like the bottom of a distant canyon. And then, she was across, landing quietly atop another cylinder, and quickly falling to her stomach. Only Razor had seen her. The awkwardness of her leg had made the feat all the more challenging, but her mind was elsewhere. Had she wanted to, she could have reached down and been within reaching distance of the SWAT Kat. Frustratingly close, but the two still oblivious Shriekman made that impossible.

Razor was watching her, his expression filled with concern.

_He's right to be concerned. Now what am I going to do?_

Below her, the cylinder churned, its contents gurgling. The noise reminded her of the various tubes that were strewn between them, and she leaned to the side, peering over the edge. A faded warning label attached near the rim still clearly shouted its message.

WARNING – NITROGEN -REFRIGERATED LIQUID – EXTREMELY COLD LIQUID AND GAS UNDER PRESSURE.

Razor seemed to notice what Callie had noticed, and as she turned to look at him, she could just barely detect the hint of a nod. Callie reached down, noting that if she disconnected the tube, its connection point would be pointed in the direction of the two pale, naked sentries. It was also pointed in Razor's direction as well, but Callie trusted the SWAT Kat's abilities.

Callie took a deep breath, and grabbed at the connection. It was a simple latch that kept the tube in place. She flicked it open, and then tugged at the hose. It gave way, the loud noise of escaping gasses filling her ears. She recoiled, landing on her back, still atop the cylinder. She cried in pain, the top of her hand feeling like it was burned and cold at the same time. She glanced at it. It was red, with a few blisters already starting to appear.

_I'll be okay. It's just a little bit of liquid nitrogen, right?_

Below, she had lost sight of Razor and the monsters, the nearby area awash in a sea of white gas. She placed her forearm over her nose and mouth as she stood up and started running across the top of the cylinders, no longer concerned with hiding, afraid the nitrogen would suffocate her.

As she made it a safe distance, she turned to look back. The gas had now dissipated, revealing the damage that had been done.

The two Shriekmen were frozen in place, in a position of surprise, their arms held up, mouths open, their pale skin glistening with frost. Razor was nowhere to be seen, and Callie started to fear the worst.

"Oh no, I killed him," she said out loud.

"Not quite," a familiar voice said from behind her, and she jumped, turning around, nearly falling off as her uninjured hand was grabbed.

"You're okay!" Callie said as Razor steadied her.

"For the most part," Razor said. Like T-Bone, his uniform was torn in places, and she could see several bruises. "But, we need to get moving."

Already Callie could hear a number of shrieks echoing as the monsters were no long mulling about randomly, but headed in the direction of the commotion.

"I agree, but we need to get T-Bone and Lt. Feral out of there," Callie said as she pointed to the office building.

Razor's eyes narrowed as he continued to hold Callie's hand. Callie wasn't sure if she'd ever held it un-gloved before. It felt dry and coarse, as though he worked with his hands for a living.

_Like a mechanic's hand…_

"Let's go," Razor said, interrupting Callie's wandering thought.

The two headed for the building in the center of the chamber.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 17 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

"We have to move quickly," Razor said in a whisper as the two approached the office building from the rear.

They had luckily avoided the swarm of Shriekman that had gone to the front to investigate the mess left by Callie's surprise attack with liquid nitrogen.

"Even though it's unfinished, he could still cause a lot of damage," Razor continued.

"With what?" Callie whispered in return. The two reached the rear of the building where a shattered window awaited them.

Razor approached it cautiously, standing on his tip-toes to peer inside. Seemingly satisfied, he brushed aside any remaining pieces of glass with his forearm sleeve and turned to Callie.

"It's a new device I was getting ready to test. It's why we were in the Felidae Ergs and not our usual spot outside Megakat Springs," Razor said as he pulled himself up through the window. "I call it the Mega-Disperser."

"What's it do?" Callie asked as Razor reached back from the inside to help her climb up and in.

"I was inspired by old Cold War ICBMs, where the missile is launched, but before impact, the warhead splits apart and splatters a large area simultaneously," Razor said, both of them now in the room. "I realized that instead of a nuclear payload, you could do the same thing with an anti-mutagen chemical agent."

"Like the kind you used to combat Dr. Viper when he flooded the city?" Callie asked as she took in the surroundings. Several overturned desks, a few old pieces of paperwork and the stain of old, dried liquids littered the floor.

"Exactly," Razor said. "If we'd had it back then, we could've just instantly blanketed the city in the anti-mutagen with the push of a button."

Callie marveled at the idea, but then a horrible thought came to mind.

"But…you could put something other than anti-mutagen in this thing, couldn't you?" Callie asked, and knew from Razor's sullen expression that she was right.

"Yeah, you could," Razor said. "Once Viper had us captured, he immediately put me to work disabling the self-destruct charges in this place. While I was at it, he took the time to examine the Turbokat's payload. Once he realized what was in there, he had me modifying it to use his bio-chemical weapon payload."

Callie frowned as they began walking as quietly as possible, Razor leading the way. He paused at the entryway that lead into the main hallway, going flush against the side to peer around the corner.

_How could he do that? Didn't he know Viper could kill thousands, maybe even millions, with a weapon like that?_

She sighed, and tried to dismiss those thoughts.

_You don't know what you would do if someone you cared about was in danger, Callie. I mean, just look where you are now…_

"I know what you're thinking," Razor said. "And, I've been mad at myself for days thinking that I should've just refused, no matter the consequences to myself or T-Bone."

Callie didn't reply as Razor crept out into the hallway. She followed after.

"But, I thought I could stall for time, look for opportunities to sabotage. Hope for a rescue. Something. Those monitoring stations were out there, after all." Razor said.

"Those monitoring stations didn't alert the Enforcers," Callie said with a defeated sigh. "They only alerted Puma Dyne, and their team was massacred by Viper."

As if to accentuate her point, the two abruptly came across the remnants of the Puma Dyne force. Razor accidentally kicked an empty, bloodied helmet. It rolled for a brief distance before coming to a stop.

"I see, literally," Razor said, looking across the hall. He reached down and picked up a discarded weapon on the floor. "MP5 sub machine gun. Still good."

"You know how to use that?" Callie asked, watching her step, the bottoms of her now worn tennis shoes sticking to the floor that was encrusted with a mixture of dried liquids.

"Oh yeah," Razor said as he inserted a magazine and cocked the action on the firearm. "It's like riding a bicycle."

Callie wondered what Razor meant by that, but didn't give it much consideration as the now armed SWAT Kat quickened his pace, moving down the hallway. Callie kept up, and within moments they arrived.

"That's the room," Callie said, pointing at a familiar discarded item. "And that's the lieutenant's backpack."

Razor rushed forward, and after looking both ways, and apparently not seeing anything, he lightly tapped on the door.

"Hey buddy, you in there?" Razor asked, speaking as loudly as he dared.

"No, it's some other guy Viper chained up," the muffled voice of T-Bone replied.

"Razor, I've got some stuff in my bag out there that can get us out of here," the familiar voice of Lt. Felina Feral said quickly thereafter.

Callie grabbed the straps of the rucksack and dragged it across the floor over to Razor. The contents were much heavier than she expected. The attached rocket launcher bumped into every piece of debris on the floor as she pulled.

"I could use that SMAW, but I don't think you'd survive that, lieutenant," Razor said as he reached down to open the bag.

_Everyone here knows what all these things are. It's like they were all in the same club or something._

"There's detcord in there," Felina said. "Along with a detonator."

Razor rummaged around and withdrew a small spool of cable that was white with black stripes.

"Here, hold this," Razor said as he passed the weapon he was carrying into Callie's hands.

"Sure, I'll just hang onto this," Callie said, clumsily holding the gun.

_Maybe I should add coatrack to my resume's experience section._

Razor unspooled the cable and stuck it in a loose rectangle around the secured, steel-reinforced door, an adhesive already on the cable keeping it in place. The SWAT Kat then connected a small box with electrical wires to the end of the cable and took several steps back, connecting them to the detonator.

Callie did the same, getting into a crouch behind Razor who was as flush to the wall as he could get.

"Stay clear!" he shouted, and waited a few seconds. "Fire in the hole!"

Razor pushed down on a lever-triggered button. In an instant, Callie felt in her gut, more than heard, the thud of the concussive force. Dust began to rain from the ceiling as everything that was rotted by years of neglect in the hallway was jostled.

Callie coughed as her vision was obscured by the dust, but moved forward as Razor grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure everyone heard that," Callie said, her ears ringing slightly.

"I bet they did, so that means we have to move quickly," Razor said as the two raced back to examine the results.

The door to the makeshift cell was blown clean off its hinges, and was lying inward on the floor. Inside, T-Bone was still in place, covered in dust, coughing as well, the chains still keeping him in place. Otherwise, he appeared unharmed. Lt. Feral was emerging from one of the corners.

"Think you used enough?" the lieutenant asked as she shook some of the lingering particles out of her hair.

"Well, I didn't want to have to redo it," Razor said with a small smile, and then turned his attention to T-Bone. "You two watch the door while I work on getting these chains off."

"Right," Felina said and turned her attention to Callie, taking note of the gun she was still carrying. "Accessorizing?"

"Not exactly," Callie said as the two went into the hallway just beyond the entrance to the room. The dust was starting to settle, and as it did, the view in either direction came into better view. Callie almost wished it hadn't, as several silhouettes could be seen emerging from the cloud.

"It's them!" the lieutenant shouted, and as if to confirm her alert, several loud screeches came from both directions.

The hairs on the back of Callie's neck stood on end, seeing the Shriekmen were packed into the hallway, slowly advancing from both sides, shoulder-to-shoulder. Before Callie could ask what to do, orders came spewing from the lieutenant.

"Don't just stand there," Felina said as she took aim with her M16 and opened fire. "Shoot them!"

In the narrow quarters each of Felina's gunshot was like a small explosion in-between Callie's temples. She took the lieutenant's not so subtle advice and brought the machine gun to bear, took aim and pulled the trigger.

Like a small writhing animal, the gun shook in her grip, the hot fire spewed from the barrel illuminated each of the Shriekman like a strobe in a dance club, though the only music here was the report of the gunfire. In moments, Callie found her shots arcing upward and into the ceiling, the recoil from the weapon's automatic fire making it difficult to aim. Almost immediately, it clicked empty, the rapid fire emptying the magazine.

The monsters were undeterred.

_I missed all of them! How could I miss all of them?_

Callie looked over her shoulder and saw the lieutenant was faring much better. Several of the monsters Felina had shot were lying on the floor, with the still advancing ones behind them tripping over the corpses.

"I'm out!" Callie shouted as she began to step back, the monsters on her side steadily getting closer. She bumped into the lieutenant, the two now back-to-back with the entrance to the cell where Razor was freeing T-Bone to their side.

"How much longer?" Felina called over her shoulder as she did a 180 degree turn and put down several of the creatures on Callie's side.

"Just a few more seconds!" Razor shouted.

Callie glanced and saw that the SWAT Kat was using what was left of the detcord and putting it in the anchors that held T-Bone's chains.

"Great!" Felina shouted as her rifle clicked once loudly and refused to fire. "I'm out of ammo!"

Callie noticed the bag of the lieutenant's was still resting on the floor nearby. The rocket launcher rested with it.

"I never thought I'd have to do this," Felina said, perspiration building on her forehead. She quickly reached into her boot and took out a knife. Callie quickly realized it wasn't a knife, but a bayonet. The lieutenant attached it to the end of the empty rifle's barrel.

"What are we going to do?" Callie asked as she threw the now useless gun she held at the nearest Shriekman as hard as she could. It collided with its forehead harmlessly.

Felina didn't say anything as she yelled at the top of her lungs and lunged at the nearest creature, stabbing it squarely in its torso, using the rifle like a spear. It gave a long guttural sigh as if it were a balloon seeping air and it collapsed to the ground. Felina tore the lance back and slashed at another that moved in to take its place.

A small thud could be felt and Callie saw that Razor had freed T-Bone using what remained of the explosives, and the two SWAT Kats came into the hallway.

"That way!" T-Bone shouted, quickly taking in the situation. He ran forward to the lieutenant and reached at her waist, grabbing the handle of her sidearm that was still in the holster. With great proficiency he aimed the gun and shot several of the advancing Shriekmen.

"Forget you had this?" T-Bone asked, gritting his teeth as he took aim again.

"Got caught up in the moment," Felina said as she used the butt of her rifle's stock to hit another monster in the side of its head. "You use one of those before, I take it?"

"Just like riding a bicycle," T-Bone said as he fired two more times.

That was the second time Callie heard a SWAT Kat say that, and quickly realized something that now seemed obvious in hindsight.

_The SWAT Kats are Enforcers. Or at least, they were…_

"This way Ms. Briggs!" Razor shouted as he advanced to the area that T-Bone and Felina had cleared, and he rammed his shoulder into a now accessible door. It splintered open on its hinges, worn down by time and poor upkeep.

Callie didn't hesitate to chase after as the advancing Shriekmen from behind nearly grabbed her hair, somehow managing to grab the strap of the lieutenant's discarded backpack and drag it along with her. She made her way into the new room, which looked like it hand once been a break room of some kind. Ancient looking vending machines occupied a corner, some of them containing several brands of cigarettes.

Razor was already trying to push one of them to block the door. Callie dropped the bag and rushed over to help. The vending machine screeched along the dirtied floor, and just as it began to block the broken doorway the lieutenant and T-Bone rushed inside.

The heavy vending machine was knocked on from behind and began to rock slightly as it was slid into place, blocking the way in.

"That wont hold them long," Razor said as he took a moment to catch his breath.

"Please tell me you managed to hijack the self-destruct on this place," T-Bone said as he walked over to a window that overlooked the outside of the building, the rows of cylinders outside within view. None of the creatures could be seen.

Callie and the lieutenant both looked at Razor, wondering what T-Bone could mean.

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a SWAT Kat if I didn't, would I?" Razor said with a wry grin and produced a remote control with a single button on it. "Just because I disabled Puma Dyne's remote detonation abilities didn't mean I _completely_ disabled them."

_Well, there's some good news after all._

"Good, so now all we have to do is escape this place with our lives and then we can turn it into a real tomb," Felina said as she too walked up to the window and pointed. "Down that row, then along the edge of the perimeter are the stairs."

"Sounds like a plan," T-Bone said as he ejected the magazine of the lieutenant's Glock 17 and checked the number of bullets remaining. "Never figured you for a nine millimeter user."

"I like being able to pull the trigger more times," Felina said as she brought the M16 up and smashed the window open loudly and hopped to the outside.

T-Bone gave a knowing shrug of concession and re-inserted the magazine, though Callie wasn't really sure what they were talking about. All she knew was the road ahead appeared clear, and she didn't want to waste anymore time.

"I just hope those things behind us don't figure out we're leaving the building," Callie said.

Razor grabbed the bag that Callie had dragged in and then gestured to the window like a bellhop welcoming a patron to a hotel room.

"After you, Deputy Mayor," he said.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 18 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

The quartet made their way swiftly down the nearest route that ran perpendicular to the rows of cylinders that encircled the office building. Each step made a dull noise against the mixture of concrete and steel that made up the floor. High above, the lights cast mixed shadows of the group, which made Callie feel like she was walking in a perpetual crosshair.

_Halfway there. Soon, this will just be a bad memory._

The lieutenant was in the lead, brandishing the bayonet-rifle in a way that seemed medieval. Some liquid remnants of the creatures Felina had killed with it were still on the blade. Callie was hesitant to describe it as blood, as their vital fluids seemed to be closer to motor oil in appearance and consistency, and smelled as artificial.

_I'll have to burn these clothes. No way these stains are getting out._

T-Bone was right behind her, brandishing the handgun with both hands, barrel pointed down and to the side. He moved with a quick attentiveness, checking around the corners where a row of cylinders would start on the left or right of the group, checking for any assailants that could be waiting just out of sight. Thus far he had found none.

Behind her, Razor brought up the rear. He had slung one of the straps of the backpack over his shoulder, the rocket launcher looking even larger at his back than the lieutenant's.

They moved in silence, but Callie could tell each of them felt the anxiety she felt, even if they were better at hiding it.

They soon made it to the perimeter, the wall a mixture of concrete and earth that sketched far above into a dome. Callie imagined it'd look about the same as being inside a giant fruit bowl that had been turned upside-down.

Now at the edge, they quickened their pace, all knowing that the entrance to the long stairwell would soon be in sight.

Soon enough, it was.

Just entering view from the horizontal horizon was the entryway to the stairs. It was cut into the side of the wall, its lack of finish made it look like an open wound.

But, Callie quickly realized, it wasn't the only thing there. Standing there, his profile accentuated by the dark and grey background behind him, every tone of the green pattern that covered his scaly skin in clear view, his white lab coat dirtied with the remnants of who knew what, was Dr. Viper.

He held a syringe in his left hand, its pinkish liquid contents glowing brightly.

T-Bone skidded to a stop, taking aim with the gun, but the lieutenant kept advancing, undeterred by the mad scientist's appearance.

"Yes, please, don't hold back," Dr. Viper said with a laugh as he plunged the needle of the syringe into his leathery neck. The glowing contents of the injection quickly disappeared.

Felina rushed at Viper and hit him squarely in the stomach with the butt of the M16 with enough force to knock him down. Viper was now lying on the ground, and as he sat upright the lieutenant switched the weapon around in her hands to bring the point of the bayonet just inches in front of his face.

"Like I said earlier, you're under arrest," Felina said. "But, I wouldn't mind it if you resisted, just a little."

T-Bone frowned at the display, and Callie wondered if the lieutenant was being overzealous. But, Callie realized, following the SWAT Kat's eyes, he wasn't frowning at Felina. His eyes were focused on the discarded syringe.

"Be careful what you wish for," Viper said, and began to laugh.

There was something deeply unsettling about Viper's tone, more so than usual.

_He's always been a difficult one to figure out. He's a biochemical genius, doing feats with science that should be impossible. And yet, he's also crazy, his motivations often times seeming more animalistic than rational. He didn't even unmask the SWAT Kats when he had them captive. And here, in this place, he makes himself content with cultivating monsters and bio-weapons for an attack on the world that hinged on his ability to persuade Razor to build him a weapon. There are so many holes in all of this, but to him I'm sure it makes perfect sense._

"Shut up," Felina said, gesturing with the bayonet.

"Lieutenant, get away from him!" Razor shouted.

The warning came too late, as Callie's mouth opened in shock. Viper's body was changing, his skin seemingly bubbling with a sick sound not unlike wet leather being dragged on a sidewalk. It was also expanding, rapidly. The lab coat he wore stretched and tore at the seams, turning to tatters.

The lieutenant took a step back, staring at the transformation occurring in front of her, her gaze turning to look upward. Viper's eyes and ears dissolved away into his bubbling flesh as his skin turned from its usual green to a washed out, white hue. Now standing at what must have been 50 feet tall, he more closely resembled one of his Shriekman, though his elongated mouth, reminiscent of a crocodile's with his signature sadistic smile, was still intact.

Dr. Viper was already a monster, Callie knew, but now he was something entirely more frightening.

"Now, where were we?" Viper asked rhetorically, his eyeless face looking down at the group, his voice booming loudly. "Ah yes, I was going to cut my losses and kill all of you."

In a swift motion he reached down and grabbed Felina with a grotesque, clawed hand. His fingers easily wrapped around her waist as he held her up. She struggled in his grasp, and Callie could see her pause in her struggle as Viper held her up, and licked his chops with his lizard-like tongue.

"Perhaps you'd make a tasty snack," Viper said, and opened his mouth, revealing rows upon rows of triangular, shark-like teeth that had developed with his transformation.

"Let her go!" T-Bone shouted as he took aim with the handgun, firing several times until its slide locked back.

Callie could see the rounds above hitting Viper in the face, but they didn't appear to be hurting him, though they got his attention.

"You're nothing but insects to me now," Viper said, his horrifyingly empty face looking down at T-Bone as he lifted a foot, casting a shadow over the SWAT Kat, preparing to stomp down. At that same instant, Callie saw the lieutenant thrust the rifle's bayonet down with both hands.

Viper let out a screech, reminiscent of the monsters that had plagued Callie's communicator, and dropped Lt. Feral, ceasing his attempt to crush T-Bone under his foot.

_She must've stabbed him right between the fingers._

T-Bone lunged forward, arms outstretched, making a desperate attempt to soften the lieutenant's 35 foot drop. The two collided and rolled to the floor. Both were unmoving.

"Stand back, Callie!" Razor shouted.

Callie turned to see the other SWAT Kat had unslung the lieutenant's rocket launcher, the SMAW, and had it resting on his shoulder. He was taking aim at the multi-story monster.

"Just a minor irritation," Viper said, pulling the lance out of his hand, discarding it like a toothpick, and looking down to see Razor preparing to attack. In an instant, Viper spun around 180 degrees. His tail had remained through his physical change, and it came around like a pale, high-speed truck.

Callie, who was already in the process of ducking out of the way, narrowly avoided getting hit as the appendage rushed over her head, the displacement of air whipping her hair over her face.

Razor, she quickly realized, was not so lucky, as the tail nicked him, colliding with his torso. He flew back and collided with one of the cylinders, his body denting it as he too collapsed to the floor. The rocket launcher clattered and rolled a few feet before coming to rest.

Callie's heart was beating in her ears, her eyes darting from Razor's unmoving form, to T-Bone's and then to Lt. Feral's. With a resounding dread she looked upwards to see that Viper had recomposed himself, his towering form within what must have been grabbing distance of the chamber's high ceiling.

Callie was hesitant to use the word "looking," but she could tell that he was in fact looking, the snout of his crocodile smile pointed right at her.

"Please, Deputy Mayor," Viper said, and leaned down, putting his hands on the ground in front of her, like an predatory animal on all fours ready to chase after its prey. "Run."

From this distance Callie could smell his disgusting breath, see every detail of the jagged teeth, each one the size of a pizza box, all looking like they could easily rend her flesh into bits. The sight was terrifying, and her brain did not even consider an alternative.

She ran.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 19 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

Cylinder after cylinder was passing on either side of her peripheral vision as Callie ran down the nearest row. Behind her, she could hear the echoing laughter and feel the ground rumble with each footstep that came behind her. The smashing and crunching of metallic objects was also in her wake, each of Viper's footsteps crushing its way through machinery.

_What am I going to do? He's going to kill me!_

Callie was hyperventilating now, the stress of terror combining with her physical exertion. She had all but forgotten about the pain in her leg, the adrenaline was coursing through her veins like wildfire. It was a very primal feeling, one that Callie thought was probably the same kind a mouse felt when it was cornered.

"Yes, keep running," Viper said, his voice echoing above. "I've called off my Shriekmen so we can continue to have our little fun. So, what will it be? Crushed under my foot? Or perhaps you'd like your bones ground by my teeth?"

In that instant Viper swung his tail around again. It swept across the row of cylinders on Callie's right and sent them tumbling past her in a deafeningly loud wave of steel, aluminum, rubber and liquids.

She skid to a stop as the destruction cut off the path in front of her.

"Or maybe I'll eat you whole," Viper said with a disturbing laugh. "I'll feel you squirm and get digested within my stomach. A rather poetic end, don't you think?"

The description made her feel ill, and all of a sudden her earlier thoughts of being trapped underground in a crawl space no longer seemed that bad.

_The crawl space!_

Callie looked down and saw that one of the grates had been disturbed open by Viper's actions, and without hesitation she dove down, headfirst. She quickly realized it wasn't completely open, and felt a gash tear into her shoulder. Below she collapsed onto the floor of a duct, and began to rapidly scoot away, trying desperately to put distance between herself and the only light that came from above, this time seeking solace in the darkness.

Her shoulder was now on fire, and she grasped it with her hand, wincing, holding back tears of pain.

"Now, where'd you go off to?" the voice of Viper said, sounding slightly more muffled and distant.

She could feel the duct shake as the monster above moved close to the open grate.

_Keep moving and maybe he won't be able to get you._

Callie's sneakers squeaked on the metal of the duct with each frantic shove, with her shoulder leaving smears of blood within the narrow confines on every other push.

The light from where she had entered was now the size of a baseball, like an unmoving train at the end of the tunnel.

Callie realized she was out of breath, and she let herself fall onto her back as she grasped her shoulder. Her exhausted breathing was filling the duct with dull noise.

_What am I going to do…_

There was nothing to do, she realized, as feelings of utter hopelessness were starting to overcome her.

_The SWAT Kats couldn't beat Viper, and neither could the lieutenant. What could I do?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt, more than heard, the thud of something that entered the duct. The baseball sized light at the end of the tunnel was now flickering as if something was occasionally blocking it.

Callie's eyes went wide as she realized what it was.

Rapidly thudding its way down the duct in a wet, wriggling motion, was a large tongue, forked at the end like a snake's. It bumped the ceiling, sides and floor of the crawl space as it blindly searched for its prey.

_Me._

WIth renewed energy, Callie turned to get on her stomach and began to crawl as fast as she could, her elbows and knees banging on the metal duct. She could feel it getting closer, the flickering of the tongue just brushing against the back of her ankle.

And there it was. New light, obscured by a 90 degree turn in the crawlspace. It was another grate, and Callie raced at it, getting to her feet and pushing her way upwards, the bars of light casting shadows on her face as she pushed with both hands.

It opened, and she pulled herself up, out of the hole and onto the floor, once again in the stadium sized chamber, but far away from where she had entered. Below, she heard and then saw the forked tongue writhe upwards, giving chase. Reflexively she slammed the grate back into place. In that instant, the tongue crested over the hole, and was just as immediately slammed down, held in place.

A loud screech that sounded like a combination of pain and anger echoed in the chamber, but the source of it was out of sight. The end of the tongue wriggled and was bleeding black, tar-like blood from where the grate was holding it in place.

Callie got up and viciously stomped on the grate, driving the wedge farther down. Within moments, the force of the action severed the end of the probing organ, and she could see what remained of it withdraw down below.

At her feet, the severed piece was still moving in spasms, and Callie kicked it away.

For a brief moment, Callie felt her fear dissolve away. It was replaced by something else: a sense of accomplishment, combined with a realization.

_He can still be hurt._

As soon as the thought came, it was just as quickly replaced with doubt.

_So what if he can be hurt? What can I do to hurt him?_

Callie sighed a sigh of defeat, and squatted down to wrap her arms around her knees, lowering her head.

_What have I accomplished by coming here? I've led the lieutenant to her death and did nothing to change the SWAT Kat's fate. Now I'm going to die knowing that whatever Viper's scheme was in using this place will go on undeterred. I really am just a useless cheerleader…_

The thought of the lieutenant's earlier admission about what the Enforcers had said about Callie behind her back had offended her. But, now she thought that maybe they were right.

_I talk a good talk, but they're right. At the end of the day I just expect others to fix my problems. But, that isn't true. Is it? I mean, I am the Deputy Mayor. I do things. Important things. And I make sure that what I can't do, others are in place who can do them. _

For some reason her admissions she had made to T-Bone earlier about the city's budget seemed to still weigh heavily on her, even after being tormented by a giant and heavily deformed Dr. Viper.

_I relied on and supported the SWAT Kats because it was the right thing to do. Just like Felina Feral disobeying her uncle's orders to save me from the Metallikats, and to also go with me on this private quest. These aren't decisions made because they're easy, or because they're politically feasible, or because they'll win friends. _

Callie wondered if this was the sort of decision the SWAT Kats had made themselves at one point or another, and just as soon knew that it probably was.

"I have to make the hard choice," Callie said as she stood up. "I have to stop Dr. Viper."

As Callie's fear was gradually being replaced with a worried determination, she took in her surroundings, and found them familiar. It was then that she saw it, resting on the floor where it had be left after being discovered by herself and the lieutenant when they'd first entered the stadium-sized chamber.

_Is this some kind of providence, fate, or just plain luck?_

Callie snatched the item up, and then checked her pocket. The triangular communicator was still there.

"I can do this," Callie said, a plan forming in her mind. "I can win this one against the odds, because like any politician…"


	20. Chapter 20

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 20 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

"…I hate to lose," Callie said.

The admission was abrupt, and amid the host of euphemisms, pleasantries and other verbal nonsense, it rang with truth. Callie could see by the small smile forming at the corner of the Mayor's mouth that she had said the right thing.

"Well, Ms. Briggs," Manx said as he leaned back in his ornate office chair behind an equally detailed and polished walnut desk that occupied much of the rear-end of his expansive City Hall office. "You certainly do stand out from the other potential candidates for Deputy Mayor."

"You can call me Callie," Callie said.

She knew that despite several within the Mayor's administration virtually jumping ship, there were always those who would try to make their way in, much as she was. Even before she had graduated from Megakat University she had interned with the Mayor's Office. That was over three years ago, and today she was part of the senior staff, working as assistant to the campaign manager who had recently quit.

Callie suspected the former assistant to the mayor had been embezzling from the city, and the Mayor had quietly gotten rid of him, but she didn't know for certain. Callie didn't really care either, as one person's disgrace was now her opportunity.

"Well, Callie," Manx said as he stood up. "I admire that kind of attitude. It's one that I've considered myself to have. You don't get to be Mayor for eight terms without a winner's outlook."

Callie listened, assuming correctly he had more to say.

"But, hating to lose is just the start," Manx said. "You have to have the courage to act, to lead by example."

"Just like your ancestor?" Callie asked.

"Yes, just like the Blue Manx," the Mayor said with pride. "Though he was an aristocrat, he set aside the protection his wealth offered and took to the skies to fight the forces of evil."

Callie listened.

"I need that kind of dedication, that kind of leadership, that kind of perseverance in my campaign," Manx said. "As you know we're down in the polls this election season."

"By about one and half percentage points," Callie said, recalling the data from her latest research.

"You could change all of that," Manx said, looking at her. "I know your work in the community is well respected, and your past offers nothing of question. And, most importantly, your expertise is unparalleled."

"Your flattery is appreciated, Mr. Mayor," Callie said, but knew she also offered something else he wasn't going to mention.

_I am also a pretty face. Petty as that may be, it'll set this campaign in stark contrast against the opponent's in nearly every way. Someone like me tests well with the undecided voters, which are critical this election._

"It's well deserved," Manx said as he extended a hand. "This process of interviews has really just been a formality, Callie. I think you know I've already made my decision. I'd like you to be my new running mate."

Callie stood and shook it.

"I accept the offer," Callie said. "And I'll make sure to show you and the citizens of Megakat City that I'm not just a pretty face."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for an instant," Manx said. "I have a feeling you're going to show all of us."

* * *

"Help!" Callie shouted, her voice standing out amid the relative silence that had befallen the chamber.

Callie could see Dr. Viper's head jut upward in the distance, his eyeless gaze honing in on the sound of the shout.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" Callie shouted again.

"Oh, I won't hurt you," Viper said with a devilish grin and began to march his way toward the sound of her voice, breaking and crushing several rows of cylinders along the way.

"No! Don't!" Callie shouted as the hulking form of the greater monster Dr. Viper had become arrived.

"It's no use, you stupid girl!" Viper said with a slithering laugh. "I hear exactly where you are!"

Viper reached down and shoved aside a small pile of debris, the remnants of his partially severed tongue slithering visibly outside his mouth, wet with saliva, apparently anticipating the flesh of the Deputy Mayor.

But, he found nothing, and leaned forward to look closer, no doubt now seeing what Callie had left there: T-Bone's discarded helmet. The volume of the radio headset was on full. She had been shouting into her communicator to mislead the murderous abomination, and while he had been distracted, she had managed to work her way back to the still unmoving forms of Razor, T-Bone and Lt. Feral.

They were not the focus of her attention at the moment, however. Callie had her eyes on Dr. Viper. As he turned to look over his giant shoulder, Callie could see it all in his eyeless expression.

The irony of using the communicator to lure the good doctor to his doom, as he had done to the SWAT Kats and inadvertently to Callie and Felina, was no doubt on his mind.

Callie felt a smile come across her lips, and a few tears of happiness mixed with the joy one feels at narrowly avoiding their own demise welled up within her. Not only that, but a feeling that made her shoulders feel warm and tingly: the sense of having one-upped the devil himself.

_I got you._

Callie pulled the trigger. The SMAW had already been prepped to fire by Razor before he had been knocked aside like a rag doll. It was heavy, and with her injuries she had strained to heft the tube onto her shoulder from a kneeling position. But she had done so, and was now looking through the very basic optic. It was much like the small lens on the side of a telescope. The reticle had been filled with Viper's terrible, disfigured face.

Callie felt herself pushed backward as the projectile left the tube, sending a spray of exhaust behind her, but she maintained her ground, the recoil feeling less intense than she had expected.

The rocket zoomed, several stabilizing wings expanding outward, just barely noticeable as it collided with its target. Viper's upper body disappeared in a plume of smoke and fire, and Callie felt the concussion from the explosion deep in her chest shortly before it filled the view of her cracked glasses.

As the smoke cleared, the carcass of what Dr. Viper had become collapsed to the floor, sans an upper-body. Callie turned her head away at the disgusting sight, to see the lieutenant was awake and had propped herself on an elbow, witnessing what had just transpired.

"Like I said," Felina said with a cough. "No matter how large your attacker…"

"…They always have a weakness," Callie finished.


	21. Chapter 21

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 21 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

With much effort and an eternity of climbing up the endless stairs, Callie and the lieutenant had managed to help a now awake Razor carry a still unconscious T-Bone.

"I'd prefer not moving him, but with those Shriekmen still around here somewhere we can't wait," Felina had said.

Razor had nodded in reluctant agreement and the trio moved the dead weight of the SWAT Kat up. At the mouth of the tunnel, the desert of the Felidae Ergs greeted them. The camouflaged canopy that had covered the entrance had blown over, allowing the sun to cast its full blaze upon them.

Despite feeling like a sweaty tired mess, Callie welcomed the warm feeling on her skin, appreciating the open air's contrast with the underground nightmare they had just emerged from.

"There's a medical bed in the bomb bay," Razor said. "It's a little bit cramped, but it'll have to do for now."

"Is it next to the pool table or the microwave?" Felina asked humorously, one of T-Bone's arms over her shoulder.

"I found some space next to the sauna for that," Razor replied in tune, T-Bone's other arm over his shoulder.

Callie let go as the two carried T-Bone out of sight and into the still awaiting Turbokat. As they did so, Callie turned around to cast a glance at the tunnel behind them. Its dark mouth hung open, like a monster inviting prey.

_Come on in, indeed._

She jumped as a hand was placed unexpectedly on her shoulder.

"Sorry!" Razor said.

"No, that's alright," Callie said, and noticed he was holding onto something. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah," Razor said, holding up a remote control with a single button. "This'll detonate the Semtex charges."

"Are you going to press it?" Callie asked.

"I was, but I realized that maybe that decision wasn't mine to make," Razor said as he handed the remote to Callie.

Callie took it and held it in both hands, looking at it.

"I don't know what your plans are, whether you'll need this place intact to form some kind of case against Puma Dyne or not," Razor said, and then turned his attention to Lt. Feral who was watching their conversation. "Hey, can you drive stick?"

The lieutenant scoffed at the question, glancing at the Turbokat.

"I think I can handle it," Felina replied.

"Good, because I need to keep an eye on T-Bone," Razor said. "You know, make sure he doesn't get rattled around like a paint can."

"Unless you've got further business here, Deputy Mayor, I say we leave," the lieutenant said as she began to lift herself up into the cockpit of the Turbokat.

Callie nodded, and looked at the tunnel once more, staring into the dark abyss where light seemed to flee, knowing of the terrors that were just beyond and below it.

* * *

"Just take it easy on the throttle," the voice of Razor said over an intercom. "This thing's got a lot more power than that Sabre you're used to flying."

"Yeah yeah," Felina said dismissive as the canopy slid forward, enclosing the two occupants of the cockpit. Only it wasn't the SWAT Kats, but Felina where T-Bone usually sat and Callie where Razor normally sat.

Callie's concern over T-Bone's wellbeing had lessened as Razor had repeatedly assured her he'd been through worse. The fact that he was now semi-conscious and talking was also a good sign, though Callie had no idea what he was referring to when he mentioned something about Kat Kommandos.

"Yeah, he's still a little out of it," Razor had said.

The Turbokat vibrated as its engines roared to life. Callie could see the lieutenant adjust the throttle. Outside a small sandstorm was erupting as the exhaust of the jet's moveable thrusters kicked up sand. Within moments they were ascending, and the lieutenant banked the jet in a wide horseshoe turn, and kept it at a hover.

"Well, have you reached a decision?" Felina asked over her shoulder.

Callie stared out the canopy, looking down below, seeing nothing but a featureless sheet of sand that stretched far into the horizon in every direction.

_Who'd have thought there'd be such a horrible secret here?_

"I have," Callie said, and she pushed the button on the remote Razor had given her.

Below, several plumes of smoke and sand shot upward as the ground swelled up and then collapsed on itself, crushing and burying the locations known as SITE A and SITE B.

"Let's go home," Callie said.

"Yes sir," the lieutenant responded with nothing but sincerity in her voice.


	22. Chapter 22

Title: My Responsibility - Chapter 22 of 22  
Date: October 2012  
Author: MoDaD  
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi  
Rating: Rated T for depictions of violence, blood and "off-camera" nudity.  
Words: 44,306 (117 pages)  
Beta Reader: Kristen Sharpe  
Notes: This is a loose sequel to _Last Names_ and contains spoilers for that story.

**Summary:** Callie Briggs's support of the SWAT Kats is no secret, even though the masked duo's identities are to her. When the SWAT Kats disappear, trouble arises in Megakat City, and Callie must rely on a reluctant ally to help her discover what happened.

* * *

"…and so it is that we lay this man, who was so loved by his family and so adored by this city to rest," Mayor Manx said, speaking into a microphone that rested atop a simple podium. "We should all follow his example, to hold fast against the threats we may encounter. Though the adversities we face may destroy one of us physically, they can never take away what we stand for. What James Anderson stood for."

Callie Briggs sat in the first row of the assembled mourners, wearing a black suit dress that she had not worn in quite some time. This was not her first time attending a funeral at Megakat Cemetery, but with the large crowd of at least two hundred assembled in rows of chairs behind her, and the presence of the media's cameras, it was not like any she had ever been to. The clear blue sky above was in stark contrast to the mood this event set, though it was still preferable to be here than where she had been almost a week prior.

At either side were other City Council members, and Anderson's family. All were stoic, and some brushed away tears. Anderson's widow, Jeanette, dabbed at her face with a handkerchief.

"It is with a mixture of sorrow and pride that we commit you back to the earth, old friend," Mayor Manx said.

On cue, the closed mahogany casket was slowly lowered into the ground. Nearby, a bag pipe player began a rendition of_ Amazing Grace_. Commander Feral, wearing full dress attire, stood at attention. As this was a state funeral, Callie knew that Anderson's death would be given special honors usually reserved for the military.

"Present arms," Commander Feral ordered.

A small detachment of half-a-dozens Enforcers, also in dress uniform, raised rifles that looked to be from a bygone era.

"Fire!" Commander Feral said.

The group took aim at the sky and pulled their triggers in unison, the blanks, while harmless, still rang out loudly. They repeated this process several times as Anderson's casket disappeared from view.

Callie was at first surprised to find on her return that Manx had written his own speech, but knew she shouldn't have been. Despite his growing political aloofness and reliance on delegation in recent years, there was a reason he was an eleven term mayor after all.

The ceremony came to a close, and Callie exchanged condolences with Anderson's family, an act that despite all the sincerity she expressed, she knew at some level would be tinged with an underlying political element.

As time passed, the attendants began to disperse, and the media began to pack things up as well. Ann Gora emerged from them, and came to Callie.

"That was a good speech," Ann said. "Did you write it for him?"

"Not this time," Callie said with a small smile, and winced as she turned to face the reporter. Her hand, leg and shoulder were bandaged underneath her clothes, but at times they still protested in pain. She'd have several scars for the rest of her life, but she didn't mind.

"I don't suppose it was any comfort to his family that the SWAT Kats stopped the Metallikats?" Ann asked.

"No, not really," Callie said with a sigh. "Though I personally am glad they've been taken care of."

"I'm sure you're not the only one," Ann said, and then shifted the topic. "When you get a chance, I wanted to get an exclusive with you about your adventure with Lt. Feral."

"I'm sure you would," Callie said, and noticed that the Enforcer detachment was preparing to leave. Commander Feral was among them, though she caught a glance from him.

"Let's try for that sometime tomorrow, okay?" Callie said as she moved away, heading in the Commander's direction.

"I'll hold you to that, Callie," Ann said.

Callie ignored the still lingering pain in her body as she walked over to meet the Commander. The two of them were out of earshot; most of the attendees were gone or too far away.

"You're looking well," Commander Feral said.

"Thanks," Callie said. "The doctors said I should make a full recovery in a couple of weeks."

"That's good," Feral replied.

The two were quiet for a few moments before Callie broke the awkward silence.

"I…want to apologize," Callie said as she crossed her arms and looked down at her feet.

This caught the Enforcer Commander by surprise, or at least Callie thought it was a look of surprise. It was hard to tell with him sometimes. He remained quiet and allowed the Deputy Mayor to continue.

"I want to apologize for shortchanging you on the budget, but more importantly," Callie began and she looked up to meet his gaze. "I'd like to apologize for undermining you."

Commander Feral sighed in a way one did when they knew more than they were willing to share, where modesty kept them from saying more.

"I accept your apology, Deputy Mayor," he said plainly. "Though next time, I'd encourage you to trust me, so I don't have to send one of my best to the brig."

"Your niece did the right thing," Callie said.

"I know," Commander Feral said, a hint of defeat in his voice as he turned away.

* * *

This time the elevator at Enforcer Headquarters moved downwards, as Callie was accompanied by an armed guard on her left. There seemed to be a new policy in place regarding unaccompanied Deputy Mayors wandering the halls of the building.

As the elevator came to a rest, the doors opened, and Callie and her escort approached a simple desk where a lone Enforcer Officer sat. He was reading a dirty magazine, and his eyes glanced up to see Callie standing there. Her pink suit dress and jacket seemed to stand out more-so in this dull and low-lit area.

"Deputy Mayor here to see the prisoner," her escort said. "Also checking in a personal item."

Callie slid the box she was carrying onto the edge of the desk and opened it.

The Enforcer Officer glanced at the contents and sniffed the aroma emanating from it.

"That's really cruel to bring that down here and not share it with us," the officer said.

"I know," Callie said with a smirk and closed the lid. "Now, are you going to let me in or not?"

The officer leaned back and pressed an unseen button. A buzzer blared for a split second, and a large steel door to his left clicked, unlocking.

"You've got 20 minutes," the officer said.

Callie nodded as she took the box back and approached the door. Her escort did not follow. It opened with ease, and she soon found herself walking down several rows of jail cells. All of them were unoccupied except for the one at the end.

A lone figure, on the other side of a barred door, was doing pushups on the floor.

Callie walked towards that cell, her heels clicking loudly in the quiet cellblock.

Hearing the noise, the prisoner paused what she was doing and looked up.

"I don't remember ordering a pizza," Lt. Felina Feral said as she stood up. She was barefoot and wearing a plain pair of grey sweatpants with a black tank-top. Any evidence of rank or status as an Enforcer was nowhere to be seen.

"I do," Callie said as she slid the box through a slot that was just large enough to allow a pizza box through.

Felina opened it and took out a slice, biting into it hungrily.

"They feed you down here?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, but it's all crap," Felina said in-between bites as she took a seat on the bed that was attached to the wall by welds.

"I'm really sorry I got you into all of this trouble," Callie said.

Felina shrugged as she finished off a slice and began to take a bite out of a second.

"Being NJP'd sucks, but I suppose it could've been worse," Felina said. "Though to be honest, the confinement isn't what bothers me, it's the month of artillery duty I've got waiting for me when I get out."

Callie had learned that NJP meant Non Judiciary Punishment, and it was the sort of thing that Enforcers could receive without a court martial. In the lieutenant's case, it was 15 days in the stockade, followed by a temporary month-long reassignment to man the building's defense guns. It was an assignment, Callie was told, that would be very boring and demeaning for someone like Lt. Feral.

"How bad is it?" Callie asked as she took a seat on a folding chair that had been left out.

"It's the worst," Felina said amid bites. "First of all, you're stuck on the ground. Secondly, you're stuck in this building. Thirdly, you have to answer to the Gunny and he's a real stickler for procedure. Fourthly, this place hardly ever gets directly attacked, so you never even get to shoot the things."

"You could be stuck behind a desk writing speeches, appealing to constituents or drafting legislation," Callie said humorously.

The lieutenant paused in consideration.

"Well, I suppose there are worse things after all," Felina said.

Callie laughed.

"You know, I realized there's really not a whole lot I know about you outside of your career choice, lieutenant," Callie said.

"It's Felina," she replied. "No rank while I'm in here, and besides, after what we've been though, I think first names aren't out of the question, Callie."

"Well, Felina," Callie restated. "Do you have any hobbies? Anything you like to do? Maybe a boyfriend?"

Felina laughed at the last question, nearly choking on a pepperoni.

"Yeah, my relationships don't really work out," Felina said, but paused. "Though there was this one guy I met at a bar. Seemed like my type, was even in the Enforcers. A real grease-monkey type."

"Sounds like a couple of guys I know who I go to for tune-ups," Callie said, and then paused.

"But, he was really secretive, and then he just disappeared on me…" Felina said, and then stopped mid-bite, as if something had come to mind. The dots were connecting in Callie's mind, and she could see by Felina's expression that the same thing was going through her mind as well.

_There's no way, is there? That'd just be too big of a coincidence, but then again, what both of them had said…_

"'Just like riding a bike?'" Callie asked, making air quotes with her fingers.

"Yeah," Felina said, and gulped the last bit of pizza that was still in her mouth.

Neither of them said it out loud, but Callie knew they had reached the same conclusion. Everything seemed so obvious in hindsight.

_We don't even know who they really are._

Commander Feral's words echoed in Callie's mind.

_Well, Commander, I do now._

* * *

_End_


End file.
